IEx  IGtbrtH 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


~t '  ~Tort  nU*uu  tylm^itrelc^m.  oj>  Je  lAanhatanj 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


PROCEEDINGS  AND  TESTIMONY 

AND  THE 

REMARKS  THEREON 

BY 

MR.    BENJ.    D.  SILLIM^N, 

Counsel  of  tJie  Company, 

BEFORE  THE 

COMMITTEE  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. 


FEBRUARY,  1867. 


Brooklyn : 
The  Union  Steam  Presses. 
1867. 


i 

t 


NOTE. 


During  the  latter  part  of  January,  1867,  the  winter  was  unusually  severe, 
and  the  river  was  more  full  of  ice  than  for  many  years.  The  boats  of 
the  Union  Ferry  Company  were  consequently  impeded,  and  their  trips, 
on  some  occasions  during  a  short  period,  less  regular,  frequent,  and  rapid 
than  at  other  times. 

Some  of  the  New- York  newspapers  made  this  the  occasion  for  a  series 
of  attacks  on  the  Company,  charging  them  with  disregard  of  the  public 
convenience,  alleging  that  their  steamboats  were  insufficient,  badly 
managed,  and  unsafe,  and  representing  the  Company  as  utterly  indifferent 
to  and  failing  in  their  duty.  These  attacks  were  so  repeated,  and  so 
extreme  in  their  language  and  imputations,  that  (the  Legislature  being 
then  in  session)  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were  adopted  in 
the  Assembly  on  the  5th  of  February,  1867  : 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Creamer : 

"  Whereas,  The  citizens  of  New- York  and  Brooklyn,  who  are  daily 
passing  over  the  ferries  plying  between  their  respective  cities,  are  at 
the  present  time  suffering  great  inconvenience  upon  account  of  the  inade- 
quate accommodation  furnished  by  the  different  ferry  companies  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Commerce  and  Navigation  be  author- 
ized and  directed  to  immediately  investigate  the  present  system  of  ferri- 
age on  the  East  and  North  rivers  at  the  city  of  New- York,  and  that  they 
report  at  an  early  day  to  this  house  a  bill  compelling  the  ferry  companies 
to  afford  better  security  and  protection  to  the  public." 

The  Committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Oakey,  Wendover,  Barker,  Max- 
well, Mead,  Travis,  and  Briggs,  came  to  New- York,  and  gave  public  notice 
that  they  would  attend  at  the  City  Hall  in  Brooklyn,  on  the  6th  of  February, 
to  receive  complaints  and  evidence  on  the  subject  of  their  mission.  They 
held  such  meetings  on  the  6th  and  7th,  and  an  adjourned  meeting  at  the 
Astor  House  on  the  9th  of  February. 

On  the  latter  day  the  affidavits  hereinafter  contained  were  presented  in 
behalf  of  the  Union  Ferry  Company,  and  the  following  remarks  on  the 
whole  case  were  thereafter  submitted  to  the  Committee  by  Mr.  Benj.  D. 
Silliman,  the  counsel  of  the  Company : 


Me.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee  : 


It  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate 
the  importance  of  the  ferries  between  Brooklyn  and  New- 
York,  which  places  are  virtually  one  city,  divided  by  the 
East  River,  across  which  the  ferries  are  but  continuous 
streets  from  one  part  to  the  other.  Over  the  five  ferries 
conducted  by  the  Union  Ferry  Company,  (the  Catharine, 
Fulton,  Wall,  South,  and  Hamilton  Avenue^)  the  passages 
made  by  individuals  in  a  year,  are  estimated  at  forty 
millions — a  number  equal  to,  or  larger  than,  the  whole 
population  of  the  United  States. 

But  this  is  the  amount  of  transit  on  only  five  out  of  the 
twenty-two  ferries  to  and  from  the  city  of  New- York. 
When  you  add  the  number  of  those  who  cross  on  the  other 
ferries  from  the  Eastern  District  of  Brooklyn,  ( Williams- 
burgh,)  HoboJcen,  Jersey  City,  Staten  Island,  Hunter's 
Point,  Hell  Gate,  and  other  places  in  the  vicinity,  the 
aggregate  becomes  indeed  formidable ;  and  their  proper 
accommodation  and  the  security  of  their  lives  certainly 
require  every  adequate  provision  within  the  power  of  the 
managers  of  the  ferries. 

It  is  under  a  full  sense  of  their  duty  in  these  respects, 
and  of  the  magnitude  of  their  trust,  that  the  Managers  of 
the  U?iion  Ferry  Company  have  at  all  times  acted.  As 
citizens  of  Brooklyn,  very  deeply  interested  in  its  welfare, 
they  have  every  motive  to  do  their  work  well.  Not  one 
of  them  has  even  the  inducement  of  personal  profit  to  fore- 
go any  expense  that  can  conduce  to  these  results.  The 
fifteen  Directors  hold  less  than  §25,000  out  of  the  $S00,000 
constituting  the  capital.  Except  the  President,  Managing 
Director,  Treasurer,  Cashier,  and  Auditor,  none  of  them 
receive  salaries ;  and  the  whole  amount  paid  to  those  offi- 
cers is  $14,4:95 — a  moderate  sum  certainly,  considering  the 
interests  under  their  charge. 

Several  of  the  Directors  have  been  engaged  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  ferries  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  there- 
fore have  the  advantage  of  that  long  experience  in  what- 
ever relates  to  the  best  modes  of  performing  their  trust. 


6 


During  that  period  Brooklyn,  from  a  place  of  about  25,000 
inhabitants,  has  become  the  third  city  in  the  United  States, 
with  a  population  of  some  350,000.  The  assessed  value 
of  its  real  estate  has  increased  from  about  $30,000,000  to 
$113,000,000.  These  results  hardly  prove  the  statement 
by  one  of  the  complainants,  that  the  mismanagement  by 
this  Company  of  its  ferries  had  greatly  diminished  the 
value  of  the  property  of  Brooklyn. 

It  is  not  in  a  boastful  spirit  that  we  would  ask.  Where — in 
what  part  of  the  world — are  there  ferries  better  conducted — 
which  give  ampler  facilities  or  more  entire  safety  ?  Trav- 
elers from  abroad  pronounce  them  unequaled.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  us  to  claim  such  praise,  but  we  may  safely 
ask,  Where  are  there  better  ? 

You  are  aware,  gentlemen,  that  these  ferries  are  across 
a  rapid  stream,  the  tides  of  which  run  at  the  rate  of  from 
four  to  five  miles  per  hour,  and  that  they  are  sometimes, 
though  seldom,  impeded  for  a  short  period  by  ice,  in  win- 
ters of  unusual  severity. 

During  a  few  days  of  the  recent  intensely  cold  weather, 
the  regularity  of  the  trips  of  the  boats  was  part  of  the  time 
interrupted  by  the  almost  unprecedented  amount  of  heavy 
ice  which  filled  the  river,  and,  on  the  flood  tide,  floated 
across  the  track  of  the  boats.  Nature  set  her  ban,  during 
this  short  time,  not  upon  the  passage  of  the  boats,  but  upon 
the  pendulum-like  regularity  with  which  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  cross  the  stream  ;  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
the  number  of  persons  waiting  at  the  landing-places  during 
this  hinder  an  ce  was,  on  a  few  occasions,  much  increased, 
and  the  boats  crowded  when  they  made  their  passages. 
The  weather  was  exceptional  in  its  severity,  but  (with  its 
potential  agents  of  snow  and  ice)  it  made  little  discrimina- 
tion in  its  dealings  with  the  various  modes  of  public  con- 
veyance, whether  by  land  or  water.  The  steamers  which 
ply  through  Long  Island  Sound  were  unable  to  pass  Throg's 
Keck,  by  reason  of  the  ice.  The  city  railroad  cars  of 
Xew-York  and  Brooklyn — the  omnibuses — and  the  steam 
railroad  lines  in  the  country,  were  all  seriously  impeded, 
and  travel  on  some  of  them,  for  a  time,  entirely  suspended. 


7 


The  great  mass  of  persons  accustomed  to  pass  from  the 
lower  to  the  upper  parts  of  New- York  by  omnibuses  and 
the  city  cars,  were  greatly  hindered  and  delayed,  or  obliged 
to  walk  the  whole  distance,  with  a  resulting  loss  of  time 
quite  equal  in  the  aggregate,  it  is  believed,  to  that  incurred 
by  those  who  were  delayed  a  few  times,  during  a  few  days, 
by  the  ice,  on  the  flood  tide*  at  the  ferries. 

Simultaneously  with  this  severe  weather  certain  writers 
in  one  or  two  of  the  New- York  (not  Brooklyn)  newspapers 
were  seized  with  a  ferry-phobia,  which  disclosed  itself  in 
fierce  philippics,  not  against  the  thermometer  and  the  ice, 
but  against  the  Union  Ferry  Company,  chiefly  because  it 
wras  thus  interfered  with  and  interrupted  by  the  thermome- 
ter and  the  ice.  No  "  bill  of  particulars"  was  put  forth, 
but  the  charges  (beyond  those  dependent  on  the  weather) 
were,  for  the  most  part,  vague  and  violent.4  They  were 
mainly  to  the  effect  that  the  boats  of  this  Company  were 
poor,  unsuitable  for  their  purpose,  badly  kept  and  badly 
managed;  that  the  ice  was  a  pretext  for  delaying  their 
trips,  and  that  they  were  greatly  overcrowded  when  they 
did  run ;  that  the  Company  were  indifferent  to  the  neces- 
sities, comfort,  and  safety  of  passengers,  and  that  their  own 
emolument  was  their  chief  aim. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  press  of  Brooklyn — able,  inde- 
pendent, vigilant,  and  earnest  in  regard  to  every  thing 
affecting  the  interests  and  convenience  of  our  city  and  its 
inhabitants,  and  certainly  not  less  well-informed  as  to  both 
than  their  cotemporaries  in  New- York — found  no  cause 
to  complain  of  the  management  of  these  ferries,  or  to  charge 
to  them  as  delinquencies  the  unavoidable  impediments  re- 
sulting from  the  very  unusual  flow  of  ice.  The  New-York 
papers,  however,  in  their  championship  of  Brooklyn  people 
and  interests,  became  so  continuously  eloquent  over  the 
wrongs  of  those  whose  daily  path  lay  across  the  river,  that 
this  honorable  Committee  were  delegated  by  the  Assembly 
to  lay  aside  their  other  legislative  duties,  to  leave  the  capi- 

*  The  difficulty  from  ice  (in  the  few  winters  when  it  does  occur)  exists 
only  on  the  flood  tides.  It  becomes  so  broken  up  that  little  trouble  is 
caused  by  it  on  the  ebb  tides. 


s 


tal,  and  come  specially  to  the  seat  of  the  alleged  outrages 
by  the  Unum  Ferry  Company,  and  determine  what  should 
be  done  to  save  the  people  of  Brooklyn. 

The  Committee  came.  It  was  publicly  announced  that 
they  would  hold  their  session  in  the  City  Hall,  on  the  6th 
February,  at  10  a.m.,  and  all  persons  were  notified  then 
and  there  to  attend,  and  that  their  complaints  would  be 
heard  and  heeded. 

But  though  called,  they  came  not.  Surely,  out  of  the 
more  than  100,000  who  daily  cross  the  ferries  of  the  Union 
Ferry  Company,  some  few  hundreds,  at  least,  would  appear 
to  state  and  prove  the  charges  against  the  Company  if  they 
were  true.  But,  save  the  Committee  and  the  reporters, 
only  two  or  three  persons  were  in  attendance.  An  Alder- 
man, in  the  absence  of  the  Mayor,  disturbed  the  solemn 
silence  by  "tendering  the  hospitalities  of  the  city"  to  the 
Committee,  and  (not  echoing  the  imputations  against  the 
Company)  yet  suggested  in  substance  the  propriety  of  in- 
quiry by  the  Committee,  whether  any  further  ferry  conve- 
niences and  securities  were  necessary  and  could  be  pro- 
vided. 

After  this  the  stillness  was  broken  only  by  the  comments 
of  a  gentleman  who,  in  years  gone  by,  had  been  connected 
with  the  management  of  some  of  the  ferries — a  laudator 
temporis  acti — who  thought  the  present  establishment  nei- 
ther so  well  conducted  as  it  should  be,  nor  as  it  was  in  the 
good  old  times  of  his  earlier  days.  How  far  he  was  cor- 
rect or  mistaken,  the  Committee  will  be  able  to  determine 
from  the  affidavits  which  we  submit  on  the  part  of  the 
Company. 

And  thus  ended  the  first  day's  session. 

The  Committee  patiently  determined  to  give  the  accus- 
ers a  second  day,  to  make  out  at  least  a  prirna  facie  case 
against  the  Company.  All  persons  having  complaints  to 
make,  or  facts  to  state,  were  again  besought  by  the  ISTew- 
York  newspapers  to  come  forward  on  the  next  day,  and 
sustain  them  in  the  accusations  which  they  had  made. 
This  invocation  to  the  highways  and  hedges  resulted  in 


9 


the  presence  of  five  other  persons,  some  of  whom  knew  all 
about  how  ferries  ought  to  be  managed,  (though  they  had 
never  had  any  thing  to  do  with  ferry  management,)  knew 
far  more  on  the  subject  than  they  who  had  been  for  many 
years  exclusively  engaged  in  the  business — and  told,  in 
sweeping  terms,  of  the  mismanagement  of  these  ferries,  and 
of  the  mode  in  which  they  should  be  conducted.  One  or 
two  made  suggestions,  (in  no  hostile  spirit,)  which  are 
abundantly  met  by  the  statements  contained  in  the  affida- 
vits which  we  submit. 

Such  is  the  grand  result,  and  such  the  proof  of  the  in 
temperate,  reckless,  and  reiterated  charges  by  which  the 
Legislature  was  deceived — by  which  the  interests  of  Brook- 
lyn were  prejudiced,  and  by  which  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  families,  some  of  whose  members  daily  cross  these  ferries, 
were  filled  with  anxiety  and  alarm. 

What  facts  have  been  presented  by  these  few  persons 
who  have  appeared  before  the  Committee  ?  So  far  as  there 
is  even  the  semblance  of  any  thing  inculpating  the  Com- 
pany in  their  statements,  the  Committee  will  find  the  an- 
swer in  the  affidavits  which  we  lay  before  them.  \Fe  have 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  reply  in  detail  to  the  loose  opin- 
ions of  landsmen  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  steering  steam- 
ers through  ice,  or  to  insinuations  of  sinister  connivance  by 
the  Company  with  the  authorities  of  Xew-Tork,  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  the  large  amount  of  rent  for  ferry  leases — 
and  that  the  Company  contrives  to  pay  largesses  to  its 
friends — nor  to  vindicate  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  from  the 
charge  that,  when  no  boat  was  running  on  the  Wall  Street 
Ferry,  2000  or  3000  persons  were  so  witless  as  to  stand 
there,  in  the  cold,  because  no  Director  or  officer  of  the 
Company  advised  them  to  go  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the 
Fulton  Ferry. 

The  fact  that  the  steamer  "  Eoslyn"  was  delayed  on  one 
of  her  trips  by  the  ice  was  certainly  made  the  most  of  by 
one  of  the  "  witnesses,"  but  the  Committee  will  find  the  full 
answer,  if  indeed  any  answer  be  needed,  in  the  affidavits  of 
Captain  San  ford  and  Captain  Luther  Smith. 

One  of  these  worthy  complainants  told  the  Committee 


10 


that  he  had  heard  that  it  was  said  by  somebody  that  the 
Company  paid  double  prices  in  its  contracts  with  favored 
parties ;  that  it  had  bought  a  large  property  near  Sackett 
and  Degraw  streets,  on  which  it  had  one  or  more  ware- 
houses, and  had  built  twenty-four  dwelling-houses  thereon  ; 
and  that  it  had  built  an  iron  ferry-house  in  New-York,  at  a 
cost  of  §200,000  ;  all  which  figments  will  be  found  duly 
disposed  of  by  Mr.  Perry's  affidavit. 

Another  of  the  gentlemen  was  disturbed  that  dainty  fin- 
gers should  come  in  contact  with  ferry  tickets  that  had 
been  soiled  by  the  touch  of  the  prqfanum  vulgus  ;  but  he 
did  not  explain  why  they  were  more  odious  to  him  than 
the  " filthy  lucre,"  in  the  shape  of  "fractional  currency," 
which  he  paid  to  the  ferry -master  for  them.  We  do  not 
dissent  from  his  objections  to  tobacco-smoke  in  the  cabin  to 
which  smokers  are  restricted,  and  if  the  Legislature  see  fit 
to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  smoking  on  board  ferry-boats,  the 
Company  will  certainly  neither  object  nor  regret  it. 

One  other  of  the  discontented  stated  that,  in  some  cases, 
a  higher  charge  is  made  for  trucks  or  carts  on  those  ferries 
than  on  that  to  Jersey  City ;  but  he  omitted  to  mention 
that  the  fare  for  foot-passengers  on  the  latter  is  one  third 
higher  than  on  the  former.  There  is  no  law,  or  principle, 
requiring  exact  correspondence  of  the  fare,  whether  for  pas- 
sengers or  vehicles,  on  the  two  ferries. 

The  remaining  adversary,  claiming  to  be  an  expert  in 
that  he  had  been  engaged  on  steam-boats,  pronounced,  ex 
cathedra,  that  the  pilots  of  the  Union  Company  are  not 
competent  for  their  duties !  But  it  appeared  that  he  knew 
nothing  about  the  business  of  ferry  pilots,  his  experience, 
whatever  it  was,  having  been  in  other  navigation. 

The  peculiar  craft  of  ferry  pilotage,  and  the  great  excel- 
lence of  the  pilots  on  these  ferries,  are  not  only  notorious, 
but  are  fully  shown  in  the  affidavit  of  Captain  Litther  Smith. 
The  immateriality  and  incorrectness  of  the  other  opinions 
expressed  by  the  same  person  will  appear  by  reference  to 
the  affidavits  of  Captain  Smith,  and  the  other  depositions. 

These,  I  believe,  are  all  the  witnesses,  if  they  may  be 
termed  such,  who  have  been  produced  to  sustain  the 
charges,  or  in  any  other  way  inculpate  the  Union  Ferry 


11 


Company.  What  one  fact  have  they  proved  that  even  puts 
us  on  the  defensive  ?  They  are  not  experts,  and  their  opin- 
ions are  therefore  worthless ; — they  made  their  random 
statements  not  under  oath,  and  their  utterances  therefore 
do  not  reach  even  the  form  of  legal  testimony. 

On  such  a  failure  of  proof,  the  Union  Ferry  Company 
might  well  claim  a  dismissal  of  the  complaint.  But  they 
do  not  wish  that  result,  or  a  mere  verdict  of  "  not  guilty." 
They  desire  to  present  to  the  Committee  such  affirmative 
evidence  as  will  demonstrate  the  gross  injustice  of  the 
charges  against  them. 

They  especially  desire  to  relieve  Brooklyn  and  Brooklyn 
interests  from  the  disparagement  to  which  they  are  sub- 
jected by  statements  so  industriously  circulated  broadcast 
through  certain  of  the  New- York  newspapers,  that  the  fer- 
ries and  their  bad  management  are  a  very  serious  objection 
to  residence  in  Brooklyn,  and  to  the  value  of  its  property. 
Nothing  is  less  true.  From  the  business  centre  of  New- 
York,  Brooklyn  is  more  readily  and  quickly,  and,  as  will 
presently  be  seen,  more  safely  accessible  than  the  upper 
parts  of  that  city. 

I  believe  it  safe  to  say  that  the  residents  of  Brooklyn,  in 
reaching  their  places  of  business  and  their  homes,  are  hin- 
dered and  delayed  fewer  hours  in  the  course  of  the  year, 
by  ice  and  fog  at  the  ferries,  than  the  residents  of  New- 
York  are  hindered  and  delayed  by  the  rain  and  storms 
which,  so  often,  more  than  fill  the  omnibuses  and  street  cars. 

Often  for  successive  years  there  is  no  hinderance  whatever 
from  ice,  and  in  the  severe  winters  when  it  does  occur,  the 
inconvenience  is  generally  past  in  a  few  days.*  * 

But  the  Company  do  not  propose  to  meet  the  loose  and 
sweeping  statements  against  it  by  like  loose  and  sweeping 
replies.  They  produce,  therefore,  in  answer  to  the  random 
railings  of  their  accusers,  the  solemn  oaths,  the  sworn  testi- 
mony of  those  who  do  know  that  whereof  they  bear  wit- 
ness. In  reply  to  declamation  and  insinuations,  they  give 
sworn  facts  and  figures.    In  place  of  the  crude  speculations 


*  There  has  been  no  material  inconvenience  since  1857  until  this 
winter. 


12 


of  uninformed  persons,  they  give  sworn  evidence  of  experi- 
enced, practical,  skillful  experts. 

The  original  text  for  the  New- York  newspaper  clamor 
was  the  omission  of  the  boats  to  run  with  their  accustomed 
regularity  on  the  few  occasions  when  the  ice  was  impass- 
able on  the  flood  tide.  The  discourse  expanded  as  the 
preachers  proceeded — crescit  eundo — until  no  sin  of  omis- 
sion or  commission  whereof  ferry-men  or  ferry-boats  could 
be  guilty,  remained  unimputed  to  the  Union  Ferry  Com- 
pany and  its  steamers. 

Especially  was  it  charged  that,  to  save  the  boats  from 
rude  contact  with,  and  injury  from  the  ice,  they  were  not 
run  when  they  could  easily  have  passed  through  it,  and 
that  passengers  were  thus  delayed  to  promote  the  economy 
of  the  Company. 

Such  were  the  assertions.    "What  were  the  facts  ? 

That  the  best  possible  service  was  rendered  during  the 
pressure  of  the  ice  is  proven  by  the  affidavit  of  the  experi- 
enced and  intelligent  Superintendent  of  Pilots,  Captain 
Luther  Smith,  who  shows  that  the  boats  "  were  run  as 
"  rapidly  and  as  frequently,  and  forced  through  the  ice  as 
"  unsparingly  and  strongly  as  was  practicable  and  consist- 
"  ent  with  the  safety  of  the  passengers.  The  boats  did  not 
"  lie  in  the  slips  a  minute  longer  than  their  usual  and 
"  regular  time  when  it  was  practicable  to  run  them  out 
"  and  across." 

It  is  shown  by  the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Martin,  the  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Company,  that  besides  the  constant  dam- 
age to  the  wheels  of  the  boats,  two  of  their  wrought  iron 
shafts  were  broken  by  the  ice,  and  that  the  repair-shop,  with 
its  hundred  workmen,  was  kept  busy  day  and  night,  and  on 
Sundays,  in  repairing  the  damages  sustained  by  the  boats. 

So  much  for  the  charge  that  the  boats  were  delayed  for 
the  purpose  of  saving  them  from  wear  and  tear. 

If  it  were  necessary  to  adduce  testimony  as  to  the  ex- 
treme severity  of  the  weather,  and  the  unusual  quantity  of 
ice,  it  would  be  abundantly  shown  by  the  other  statements 
contained  in  these  two  affidavits. 


13 

The  allegation  that  the  boats  employed  on  these  five 
ferries  are  of  inferior  character  and  condition,  and  not 
adapted  to  their  purpose,  is  so  notoriously  incorrect  that 
it  may  seem  superfluous,  by  formal  evidence,  to  disprove  it. 
They  are  large,  strong,  and  superior  vessels  in  every  respect, 
and  are  regarded  as  models  for  other  establishments. 

So  strong  and  powerful  are  the  boats  used  by  this  Com- 
pany that  no  less  than  seven  of  them  were  required  and 
taken  by  the  Government  for  war  vessels  during  the  re- 
bellion. Heavy  batteries  were  mounted  upon  them,  and 
they  performed  important  and  constant  sea  service,  {Captain 
Smith's  affidavit.)  The  famous  "  double-enders,"  built  by 
the  Government  during  the  rebellion,  resulted  from  the 
ample  and  efficient  service  rendered  by  these  ferry-boats  * 

The  "  Somerset"  and  the  "  Clinton"  were  so  strong  that, 
after  the  rebellion  was  ended,  and  after  they  had  performed 
long  man-of-war  service  on  the  ocean  and  in  the  Southern 
waters,  the  company  repurchased  them  from  the  Govern- 
ment, and  they  are  now  performing  daily  duty  on  the 
Fulton  Ferry. 

The  boats  of  the  company  are  sixteen  in  number,  of  which 
thirteen  are  kept  constantly  running,  and  three  are  held  in 
reserve  as  relief-boats  when  either  of  the  others  needs  repairs. 

The  smallest  of  them  is  of  500  tons,  and  the  largest  642 
tons.  The  smallest  is  151  feet,  and  the  largest  172  feet 
long.    The  medium  boats  are  163  feet  in  length. 

They  have  all  powerful  engines,  the  smallest  having 
cylinders  of  38  inches  diameter,  and  8  feet  stroke.  The 
largest  have  cylinders  of  40  inches  diameter  and  10 
feet  stroke.  The  medium  sized  boats  have  cylinders  of 
38  inches  diameter  and  9  feet  stroke.  The  power  of 
the  smallest  boat  is  twenty  per  cent  greater,  and  of  the 
larger  boats  sixty-five  per  cent  greater  than  that  of  the 
Brooklyn  and  New-York^  which  boats  one  of  the  com- 
plainants supposed  to  have  been  of  superior  power  to  the 
boats  of  the  Union  Ferry  Company. 

Whenever  a  new  boat  has  been  built,  nothing  suggested 
by  experience  has  been  omitted  that  could  make  it  an  im- 


And  were  built  after  the  ferry-boats  as  their  models. 


14 


provement  on  those  which  preceded  it.  The  Company 
have  always  given  unlimited  authority  and  instructions  to 
render  every  new  boat  and  its  engine  as  nearly  perfect  as 
possible ;  and  no  expense  has  been  spared  which  could 
conduce  to  that  result. 

Among  other  unusual  arrangements  for  strength  is  the 
structure  of  the  sides  of  the  boats  of  solid  timber,  placed 
close  together  up  to  the  water-line  from  each  end  forty 
feet  back  toward  the  middle  of  the  vessel.  (Affidavits  of 
Mr.  McFarlan,  the  Consulting  Engineer,  and  of  Captain 
Luther  Smithy 

With  these  facts  before  them,  the  Committee  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  deciding  whether  the  unauthenticated, 
wholesale,  charges  that  the  boats  of  this  Company  are  of  an 
inferior  class  are  true  or  false.* 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  these  large  vessels,  carrying  no 
cargoes,  can  well  bear  the  great  number  of  passengers  who, 
at  some  times,  crowd  on  board  them.  Captain  Smith 
states,  in  his  affidavit,  that  their  tonnage  is  so  great  that 
they  can,  without  difficulty,  carry  more  weight  than  that 
of  all  persons  who  can  stand  upon  their  decks  and  cabins. 

As  to  security  against  fire,  we  have  the  important  fact 
that  no  difficulty  or  alarm  has  ever  resulted  from  that 
cause  in  the  thirty  years  of  the  Union  Ferry  Company, 
and  no  special  reason  is  shown  for  solicitude  on  that  sub- 
ject now.  Nevertheless,  no  precaution  should  be,  and,  as 
appears  by  the  evidence,  none  is  omitted.  It  is  stated  in 
the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Morton,  the  Chief  Engineer,  that  each 
boat  is  provided  with  Worthington s  powerful  steam-pump, 
throwing  five  streams,  each  as  large  as  those  thrown  by 
the  City  fire  engines,  and  each  fitted  at  all  times  with 

*  In  the  London  "  Engineering  "  Journal  of  Jan.  18, 1867,  in  an  article 
on  tli  ferries  between  Liverpool  and  Birkenhead,  the  writer  says :  *  * 
"  It  is  certainly  surprising  that  Liverpool,  being  in  such  close  communi- 
"  cation  with  America,  should  not  only  have  done  without  real,  practicable 
"  ferry-boats  for  foot  passengers  and  carriages  of  all  kinds,  but  should  have 
"  proposed  this  very  day  a  floating  tub  to  ply  on  a  river  like  the  Mersey.* 
He  then  proceeds  to  explain  the  superior  character  of  the  American  boats, 
and  gives  drawings  of  those  which,  as  I  am  informed,  are  peculiar  to  the 
Union  Ferry  Company. 


15 


abundant  hose ;  and  that  the  Company  are  about  applying 
an  additional  contrivance  which,  by  the  turning  of  a  valve, 
will  instantly  drench  the  interior  of  the  engine-room  or 
midship-house.  The  Worthington  engines  are  of  such  very 
unusual  power  and  efficacy,  that  the  ferry-boats  are  eagerly 
put  in  requisition  whenever  fires  occur  along  the  shores  or 
among  the  shipping. 

No  stoves  are  used,  but  the  boats  are  heated  by  steam 
conducted  in  pipes  through  the  cabins. 

They  are  lighted  with  gas.  Kerosene  oil  is  used  in  no 
shape,  and  as  little  other  oil  as  possible. 

If  any  rational  suggestion  of  further  security  against  fire 
can  be  made,  the  Company  will  be  glad  to  profit  by  it. 

No  accident  has  happened  from  steam. 

The  boilers  are  regularly  examined  by  United  States 
officials,  and  are  authorized  to  carry  40  pounds  of  steam  to 
the  square  inch,  but,  in  practice,  do  carry  but  25  pounds. 

One  or  two  of  the  complainants  (who  did  not  pretend  to 
any  practical  knowledge  on  the  subject)  pronounced  very 
emphatically  that  iron  boats  were  necessary  for  the  safety 
of  passengers. 

Such  boats  would,  however,  have  very  little,  if  any,  ad- 
vantage in  this  respect  over  those  now  in  use,  inasmuch  as 
the  woodwork  of  decks,  and  doors,  and  cabins,  and  centre- 
house,  and  other  portions  which  could  not  be  of  iron,  would 
retain  whatever  there  is  of  danger  from  fire.  Moreover, 
after  careful  investigation  of  the  subject  by  competent  ex- 
perts, it  was  ascertained  that  iron  boats  would  be  less  prac- 
ticable and  less  safe  for  passengers  than  those  now  in  use. 
(Mr.  Perry's  affidavit.) 

In  this  connection  I  beg  to  suggest  to  the  Committee, 
whether  any  great  additional  collection  of  "  life  preservers" 
would  not  diminish  rather  than  increase  the  security  of 
passengers  on  the  ferries  of  the  Union  Company. 

Where  the  track  of  a  vessel  is  over  a  wide  space  of  un- 
frequented water,  such  "  preservers"  may  often  be  of  value. 
But  the  five  ferries  of  this  Company  are  all  so  near  together 


16 


that  each  one  of  the  boats  is  rarely  beyond  pistol-shot  of 
some  other  boat,  which  could  therefore  reach  her  in  a  very 
few  minutes.*  Each  boat  is  provided  with  a  large  steel  tri- 
angle, which,  struck  with  an  iron  rod,  emits  a  sharp,  ring- 
ing sound,  as  peculiar  as  that  of  a  gong,  and  which  is  heard 
at  a  great  distance.  The  orders  to  the  pilots  are,  that  in 
case  of  a  triangle  being  sounded,  every  boat  shall  go  in- 
stantly to  the  relief  of  the  one  giving  the  signal. f  It  is 
hardly  possible,  therefore,  that  either  fire,  leak,  or  other 
casualty  endangering  the  boat  or  her  passengers,  could 
reach  any  extreme  point  before  one  or  more  of  the  other 
boats  would  be  alongside  for  her  relief.  If,  in  a  panic  from 
any  such  cause  of  danger,  passengers  should  seize  life-pre- 
servers and  spring  into  the  water,  they  would  be  in  greater 
danger  from  the  other  approaching  boats  than  if  they  re- 
mained on  board,|  and  such  other  boats  might  be  thereby 
prevented  from  seasonably  reaching  the  one  in  trouble. 

The  safety  of  passengers  is  the  object  which,  before  and 
beyond,  and  at  the  subordination  of  all  others,  the  Direc- 
tors aim  to  make  sure,  and  must  make  as  sure  as  possible. 
Such  safety  has  thus  far  been  secured.  When  it  is  consid- 
ered that  these  ferries,  carrying  now  forty  millions  of  pas- 
sengers a  year,  have  been  run  with  such  care  and  safety 
that  for  more  than  thirty  years,  during  which  they  or  any 
of  them  have  been  operated,  but  two  persons  on  board  them 
have  received  injuries  resulting  in  subsequent  loss  of  life, 
(and  those  from  causes  in  no  way  related  to  the  perils  in 
question ;)  that  during  that  long  period  no  accident  what- 
ever has  occurred  to  any  person  from  lire,  or  from  steam,  or 


*  The  whole  passage  on  the  CathaHne,  Fulton,  and  Wall  Street  ferries 
is  made  in  about  four  minutes,  on  an  average,  and  on  the  South  and 
Hamilton  in  about  six  to  eight. 

f  These  triangles  are  kept  as  alarm  signals,  and  though  they  have  been 
on  the  boats  for  upward  of  twenty  years,  not  a  single  occasion  has  as  yet 
arisen  for  their  use. 

\  The  danger  would  be  greater  in  fog  than  when  clear,  because,  while 
the  sound  of  the  triangle  would  indicate  the  exact  position  of  the  dis- 
abled boat,  the  fog  would  hide  the  persons  in  the  water  from  those  on  the 
approaching  boats  until  too  late  to  avoid  running  over  them. 


17 


from  collision* — it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  it  is  wise 
in  guarding  against  imagined  possibilities  of  evil,  to  inter- 
fere with  a  system  that  has  proved  so  preeminently  safe. 

It  is  a  palpable  truth,  that  the  lives  and  limbs  of  passen- 
gers on  these  boats,  during  the  long  period  referred  to,  have 
been  safer  than  in  walking  through  the  streets  of  the  city. 

Inasmuch  as  uncertainty  pertains  to  all  human  things, 
we  can  not  be  certain  that  no  disaster  will  ever  happen. 
May  Heaven  avert  it !  We  can  only  reason  as  to  the  future 
from  the  experience  of  the  past.  It  is  possible  that  a  boiler 
may  burst  and  destroy  the  lives  of  passengers  \  it  is  possi- 
ble that  a  boat  may  be  consumed  by  fire,  or  may  be  sunk 
by  a  collision,  with  the  like  calamitous  result.  So  it  is 
possible  that  the  roofs  of  the  churches  may  fall  in  and  kill 
the  congregations,  and  that  houses  may  fall  down  and 
crush  the  passers-by  on  the  sidewalks ;  but  where  the 
churches  and  the  houses  have  been  built  at  unlimited  ex- 
pense, of  the  best  materials,  by  the  best  workmen— -have 
stood  firmly  for  thirty  years  without  falling  or  c  acking, 
and  are  regularly  examined  by  skillful  architects  and  found 
to  be  in  perfect  condition — sane  people  would  hardly  clamor 
for  their  removal  and  the  construction  of  iron  or  India-rub- 
ber houses  in  their  stead,  lest,  on  the  principle  that  "  all 
things  are  possible,"  their  roofs  or  walls  might  crack  or  fall 
and  kill  the  congregations  or  the  passers  on  the  sidewalks. 
Tornadoes  sometimes  prostrate,  and  earthquakes  overturn 
edifices  that  have  stood  securely  for  long  periods  of  time. 
But  all  rational  human  calculations  are  made  and  based, 
not  on  the  rare  and  wholly  exceptional  experiences  of  man- 
kind, and  houses  and  castles  are  built  and  occupied  on  the 
presumption  that  they  will  not  be  destroyed  by  tornadoes 
or  earthquakes. 

But  the  Company  regards  with  careful  attention  every 
judicious  plan,  whenever  and  however  suggested,  that  can 
conduce  to  the  safety  of  those  who  cross  the  ferries.  Some 
degree  of  danger  is  incident  to  all  modes  of  traveling.  The 

*  Except  that  one  of  the  two  persons  above  mentioned  was  inj  ured  by 
the  act  of  a  man  who  willfully  ran  the  bowsprit  of  a  sloop  into  the  ferry- 
boat, as  stated  in  the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Perry. 
2 


18 


Company  are  grateful  that  those  who  pass  upon  these  fer- 
ries have  been  thus  far  so  entirely  sheltered  from  harm. 

The  newspaper  assailants  of  the  Company  and  their  wise 
"  witnesses,"  inspired  with  knowledge  as  to  the  proper 
management  of  ferries  far  exceeding  that  which  the  Com- 
pany have  derived  from  their  thirty  years'  experience, 
inform  us  that  "  ice-boats  "  should  be  built  and  used  to 
"  keep  the  channel  open." 

How  a  boat  of  any  kind  crossing  a  current,  which  is 
sweeping  by  with  its  fields  of  ice  at  the  rate  of  four  to  five 
miles  an  hour,  can  "  keep  the  channel  open,"  passeth  under- 
standing. Where  a  river  is  frozen  over,  and  the  ice  is  per- 
manent, a  channel,  once  opened,  may,  if  the  cold  is  not  too 
intense,  be  kept  open  by  the  constant  agitation  of  the  water 
by  a  constantly  moving  steam-boat ;  but  the  sweeping  cur- 
rent, across  which  an  "  ice-boat"  should  pass,  would  close 
over  its  track  simultaneously  with  its  passage,  just  as  it 
closes  over  the  track  of  the  present  ferry-boatr,  each  of 
which  is  a  powerful  ice-boat. 

The  long  experience  of  the  Directors  has  proven  that  no 
better  ice-boats,  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  needed, 
can  be  constructed  than  the  steamers  now  used  on  these  fer- 
ries. They  are  constructed  with  special  reference  to  ice, 
as  well  as  to  bearing  great  numbers  of  passengers  and 
loaded  vehicles,  to  steadiness,  and  to  strength. 

Another  point,  about  which  these  ferry  theorists  are  very 
sure,  is  that  some  new  preventives  should  be  added  to 
secure  against  the  "  frightful  loss  of  life"  resulting  from  the 
imprudence  of  passengers  in  jumping  on  and  off  the  boats 
as  they  leave  or  approach  the  landing-places.  The  clamor 
on  this  point  would  induce  the  belief  that  there  is  a  great 
mortality  of  ferry-passengers  from  this  cause. 

But  what  is  the  truth  ?  The  Committee  will  see  by  the 
affidavit  of  Mr.  Perry  that  out  of  the  millions  and  millions 
of  passengers  in  over  thirty  years,  but  two  persons  have 
lost  their  lives  from  accident  on  board  the  boats.  The 
instances  have  been  very  few,  not  averaging,  it  is  believed, 
one  in  a  year,  where,  out  of  these  millions  and  millions  of  pas- 


19 


sengers,  a  life  has  been  lost  by  imprudence  in  springing  on  or 
off  the  boats.  The  statistics  of  all  casualties  are  carefully  pre- 
served at  the  office  of  the  Company,  and,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Perry,  in  the  last  year  fourteen  per- 
sons, in  jumping  on  or  off  the  boats,  fell  into  the  river,  of 
whom  but  one  was  drowned.  In  the  previous  year  eleven 
went,  in  like  manner,  into  the  water,  and  were  all  drawn 
out  without  damage.  Mr.  Perry  further  shows  that  the 
proportion  of  such  casualties  in  previous  years  did  not  (as 
is  believed)  exceed  that  of  the  two  years  cited.  (The  rea- 
son why  he  was  unable  at  the  time  to  add  the  exact  statis- 
tics, in  this  respect,  of  previous  years,  is  given  in  his 
affidavit.) 

It  is  safe  to  say,  then,  that  while  no  lives  are  lost  by  fault 
of  the  Company  or  its  agents,  not  one  life  in  a  year  of  the 
vast  multitudes  who  cross  these  ferries  is  lost,  even  from 
their  own  carelessness  or  imprudence.  Why,  then,  clog 
the  way,  and  impede  the  convenience  of  all,  by  additional 
hindering  chains  and  lumbering  gates  % 

In  reference  to  the  "  loss-of-life  "  topic,  the  Committee  will 
be  able  to  judge  of  the  degree  of  reliance  to  which  the  pub- 
lished charges  are  entitled  by  perusing  an  article  in  the 
New- York  Times  of  February  7th,  which,  alluding  to  the 
lack  of  witnesses  on  the  first  day  of  the  Committee's  session, 
asks  :  "  .  .  .  Can  not  the  police  be  called  upon  for  their 
"  evidence  ?  They  know,  both  as  citizens  and  as  officials, 
"  what  are  the  evils  of  crowding,  danger  at  the  bridges, 
"  etc.,  of  which  so  much  has  been  heard.  They  had  to  res- 
"  cue  people  from  the  broken  ice-bridge,  and  have  taken 

"  CHARGE  OF  THE  DEAD  BODIES,  WITHOUT  NUMBER,  OF  FERRY 

"victims"  !  ! 

The  persons  who  spring  on  and  off  the  boats  into  the 
river  are  not  those  who  would  be  staid  by  gates  and  chains. 
The  rule  now  is,  that  on  the  arrival  of  a  boat  at  the  bridge, 
the  chains  are  not  lowered  until  the  boat  is  wound  up  so 
closely  to  the  bridge  that  passengers  can  not  fall  between  it 
and  the  boat.  The  consequence  is  that,  before  the  chains 
are  lowered,  the  larger  portion  of  the  passengers  have 
stepped  over  them,  and  are  on  their  way  out  of  the  ferry- 
gates  and  up  the  streets. 


20 


The  rule  of  so  retaining  the  chains  in  place  resulted  from 
the  charge  by  a  learned  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  to  the 
jury,  (in  an  action,  some  years  since,  against  the  Company,) 
that  the  omission  of  a  chain  across  the  front  of  the  boat 
until  she  was  thus  secured  to  the  bridge,  was  "  careless- 
ness" on  the  part  of  the  Company.  Since  that  time  the 
Company  has  maintained  such  chains  accordingly.  As  an 
evidence  how  unwelcome  such  restraints  are  to  the  passen- 
gers, it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  same  learned  judge,  a  few 
days  after  his  charge  to  the  jury,  on  crossing  on  one  of  the 
boats,  himself  impatiently  threw  down  the  chain  before  the 
boat  was  "properly  secured,"  as  being  a  vexatious  hin- 
derance. 

The  only  persons  who  remain  on  the  boat  until  the 
chains  are  lowered  are  those  who  would  not  sooner  leave 
it  if  no  chains  were  there. 

It  would  be  little  trouble  to  the  Company  to  have  gates 
shut  across,  or  portcullises  lowered  upon  the  bridge  at 
each  trip  of  a  boat  before  it  is  cast  off ;  but  the  consequent 
loss  of  time  in  the  trips,  the  inconvenience  to  passengers, 
and  the  injury  to  their  persons  which,  in  their  rapid  move- 
ments, and  the  necessary  suddenness  of  the  movements  of 
the  gates  would  result,  would  be  greater  evils  than  any 
which  could  be  prevented  by  their  use.  As  it  is,  rope 
gearings  are  placed  in  front  of  each  bridge,  by  which, 
when  any  one  does  fall  in,  he  can  readily  catch  ;  life-pre- 
servers and  ladders  are  kept  immediately  at  hand ;  and,  as 
has  been  shown,  these  means  are  all  but  invariably  suffi- 
cient for  the  safety  of  the  very  few,  very  careless,  or  very  im- 
prudent, persons  for  whom  alone  they  are  ever  needed.  The 
Company,  as  the  result  of  their  experience,  are  satisfied 
that  the  present  arrangements  are  the  best  for  the  purpose, 
are  in  full  proportion  to  the  exigency,  and  that  nothing 
would  be  gained  by  a  spring  cow-catcher,  suggested  by  one, 
or  a  spread-net,  suggested  by  another. 

Unless  on  the  approach  to,  and  while  on  board  a  ferry- 
boat, passengers  are  to  shut  their  eyes  and  take  leave  of 
their  common  sense,  and  the  carriers  are  to  treat  them  as 
idiots,  or  lunatics,  and  provide  for  them  not  only  life-pre- 
servers but  straight-jackets,  to  envelop  the  boats  in  " board- 


21 


"  ing-nettings,"  and  to  "  call  all  hands"  with  pikes  to  "  repel 
"  boarders,"  as  is  done  in  naval  battles  at  sea,  no  further 
guards  by  the  Company  or  the  Legislature  can  be  required 
to  protect  them  against  the  extreme  carelessness  or  impru- 
dence which  can  alone  cause  their  stepping  into  the  water. 

The  Annual  Report  to  the  Legislature  by  the  State  En- 
gineer of  March  6th,  1866,  shows  that  the  number  of  pas- 
sengers on  all  the  steam  railroads  of  the  State,  during  the 
preceding  year,  was  16,215,427 ;  and  that  the  number  of 
passengers,  employees,  and  others  killed  on  those  roads 
during  that  year  was  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  and 
the  number  injured  was  two  hundred  and  seventy -two. 

On  the  railroads  operated  by  horses,  during  the  same 
period,  there  were  carried  107,349,507  passengers,  and  the 
number  of  passengers,  employees,  and  others  killed,  was 
thirty,  and  of  persons  injured  sixty -two. 

Thus,  where  the  steam  roads,  with  sixteen  millions  of 
passengers,  (less  than  half  the  number  on  the  ferries,)  lose 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  lives  in  one  year,  these  fer- 
ries, now  carrying  forty  millions  of  passengers,  have  lost 
two  lives  in  thirty  years.  Where  the  horse-car  roads,  with 
107,000,000  passengers,  (or  somewhat  more  than  double 
the  number  of  those  on  these  ferries,)  lose  thirty  lives  in 
one  year,  the  ferries  lose  two  lives  in  thirty  years. 

If  the  loss  of  life  on  the  ferries  were  in  the  same  propor- 
tion as  on  the  steam  railroads,  there  would  be  some  five 
hundred  and  sixty  killed  in  one  year  instead  of  two  in 
thirty  years  ;  and  even  if  we  reduce  the  proportion  to  that 
of  the  horse-cars,  there  would  be  some  ten  or  twelve  killed 
each  year  on  the  ferry-boats,  instead  of  two  in  thirty  years. 

The  number  of  the  injured  by  these  boats,  if  in  the  same 
proportion  to  the  steam  railroads,  would  be  about  680  in 
each  year  ;  and  if  in  proportion  to  the  horse-cars,  about  20. 

Such  facts  as  these  must  not  only  put  an  end  to  the  idle 
clamor  and  wicked  scribblings  by  which  the  Company  is 
assailed,  but  they  have  the  force  of  mathematical  demon- 
stration of  the  almost  absolute  security  thus  far  enjoyed  by 


22 


passengers  on  these  ferries — a  security  incomparably  be- 
yond that  of  any  other  mode  of  public  conveyance. 

Frequent  accidents  occur  from  persons  attempting  to  get 
on  or  off  of  railroad  cars  when  in  motion,  but  no  sane  man 
thinks  of  requiring  gates  to  be  erected  and  shut  across  the 
steps  of  the  cars  before  the  train  is  permitted  to  start,  yet 
the  reason  for  doing  so  is  vastly  greater  than  for  gates  on 
the  ferry  bridges.  There  is  a  thousand  fold  more  occasion 
for  constructing  cars  of  India-rubber  to  secure  the  safety  of 
passengers,  than  there  is  for  constructing  ferry-boats  of  iron 
for  the  like  purpose. 

I  submit  with  confidence,  gentlemen,  that  we  have  shown 
by  the  evidence  produced  to  you — 

That  our  boats  are  not  only  adequate  to  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  required,  but  are  of  the  very  strongest, 
safest,  best  constructed,  and  most  efficient  character ;  that 
against  the  suggested  danger  of  fire,  (from  which,  in  the 
large  experience  of  the  Company,  the  passengers  have  had 
neither  injury  nor  alarm,)  very  careful  and  complete  guards 
are  provided ;  that  against  the  perils  of  steam,  (from  which 
also  in  that  long  experience  the  passengers  have  had  neither 
injury  nor  alarm,)  all  needed  precautions  are  taken ;  that 
the  pressure  on  the  boilers  is  but  half  that  which  they  can 
properly  carry ;  that  the  means  of  rescuing  the  very  few 
persons  whose  imprudence  ever  "  lands  them  "  in  the  water, 
are  abundant  and  sufficient;  and  that  instead  of  special 
peril  being  incurred  by  passengers  in  crossing  the  ferries, 
no  other  known  means  of  transportation  of  passengers  has 
been  practically  attended  with  so  little  danger. 

As  to  the  number  and  frequency  of  the  passages  of  the 
boats,  I  will  merely  refer  the  Committee  to  the  detailed 
statement  contained  in  Captain  Smith? s  affidavit. 

No  less  than  one  thousand  t^To  hundred  and  fifty  trips 
are  made  each  day.  The  boats  are  run  all  day  and  all 
night  on  the  Fulton  and  Hamilton  Avenue,  (and,  in  summer, 
on  the  South  Ferry  ;)  and  on  the  others  to  as  late  an  hour, 


23 


and  at  as  early  an  hour  in  the  morning,  as  is  required  by 
the  necessities  or  convenience  of  those  who  have  occasion 
to  cross  the  river  upon  them. 

To  any  person  in  the  habit  of  passing  on  these  ferries,  a 
vindication  of  the  pilots  from  imputation  of  want  of  skill, 
would  seem  almost  ludicrously  unnecessary.  If  there  is 
any  class  of  men  whose  peculiar  skill  and  efficiency  in  their 
calling  is  not  only  admitted  but  proverbial,  it  is  the  pilots 
on  these  ferries.  The  almost  incredible  immunity  from 
accidents  which  the  ferries  have  enjoyed,  during  the  long 
period  to  which  I  have  so  often  alluded,  could  result  from 
nothing  less  than  the  consummate  skill,  care,  sobriety,  and 
fidelity  of  these  men.  Every  one  who  crosses  the  river,  as 
so  many  of  us  do,  two  or  more  times  daily,  will  tell  you 
that  nothing  can  exceed  the  adroitness  with  which  they 
navigate  their  large  boats,  of  from  five  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred tons  each,  heavily  loaded  with  passengers  and  vehicles, 
flitting  across  the  river  like  shuttles  in  a  weaver's  loom  ; 
their  tracks  crossed  by  other  steamers,  and  often  thronged 
by  sailing  vessels  moving  rapidly  in  opposite  directions ; 
with  strong  ebb  or  flood  tides  sweeping  laterally  against 
them ;  encountering  baffling  eddies  and  cross  tides  as  they 
approach  the  shores ;  and  yet  threading  their  rapid  way 
with  unerring  certainty  and  safety.  In  sunshine  and  in 
tempest,  in  the  darkest  nights,  and  in  the  densest  fogs, 
their  vigilance  and  skill  enable  all  to  reach  their  places  of 
business  and  their  homes  unharmed. 

But  can  the  case  be  stated,  need  it  be  stated,  more  strongly 
than  by  the  simple  repetition  of  the  fact  that  40,000,000  of 
passengers  are  annually  carried  by  them  without  loss  of  life 
or  limb  ? 

You  will  be  struck  by  the  statement  in  Captain  Smith's 
affidavit  that  so  rigid  are  the  requirements  of  the  Company, 
so  exacting  are  they  as  to  the  qualifications  of  the  men  to 
fill  this  most  important  post,  that  of  all  those  who  are  care- 
fully trained  on  the  boats  (the  best  possible  school)  to 
qualify  them  for  the  position  of  pilots,  not  more  than  one 
in  twenty-five  is  accepted  by  the  Company. 


24 


What  sifting  is  there  at  Annapolis  for  the  navy,  or  at 
West-Point  for  the  army,  or  in  any  college  —  whether  aca- 
demical, medical,  or  of  law — before  their  graduates  are  com- 
missioned, to  compare  with  this 

One  complaint  which  has  been  suggested  to  the  Com- 
mittee is  not  without  reason.  It  is  that  at  certain  hours 
the  boats  on  the  Fulton  Ferry  are  uncomfortably  crowded. 
For  the  same  reason  that  the  other  streets  are  crowded  at 
the  same  hours  these  are — at  the  time  when  men  are  going 
to  and  returning  from  their  business  elsewhere  they  are  do- 
ing the  same  across  the  ferries.  But  the  difficulty  is  one 
that  the  Company  has  no  present  power  to  remedy  or  to 
mitigate.  It  runs  four  boats  on  the  Fulton  Ferry,  as  rapid- 
ly as  they  can  be  run,  and  that  number  of  boats  is  the  larg- 
est that  can  be  run.  If  we  had  another  slip  on  the  New- 
York  side  of  the  river,  more  boats  could  be  used,  which 
would  obviate  the  present  difficulty.  The  Company  have 
endeavored  to  obtain  from  the  city  of  New- York  the  slip 
adjoining  that  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  street,  but  could  not  do 
so,  it  being  leased  to  other  parties.  If  they  can  succeed  at 
any  time  hereafter  in  securing  it,  (which  they  earnestly  de- 
sire to  do),  they  will  lose  no  time  in  placing  additional 
boats  upon  it. 

The  question  has  been  asked  whether  the  union  of  the 


*  Captain  Smith,  since  making  his  affidavit,  has  furnished  to  me  a 
more  full  and  exact  statement  of  the  length  of  time  that  the  different 
pilots  on  these  ferries  have  served  thereon  in  that  capacity. 

It  is  as  follows :  John  Albertson,  15  years ;  James  Baulsir,  4  years  ; 
John  W.  Baulsir,  33  years  ;  John  V.  Baulsir,  15  years  ;  John  Baulsir,  Jr., 
7  years  ;  John  W.  Cole,  15  years ;  Oliver  Cole,  10  years  ;  Andrew  Denny, 
20  years  ;  William  Baulsir,  20  years  ;  Johnson  Carson,  11  years  ;  John  Cole, 
17  years  ;  Zeno  Devoe,  2  years  ;  Peter  C.  Garrison,  15  years  ;  Robert  Garri- 
son, 4  years  ;  Daniel  Jarvis,  4  years  ;  Peter  Lamb,  6  years  ;  James  Lark- 
man,  8  years  ;  William  Lockwood,  2  years  ;  William  Montross,  8  years  ; 
William  McAllister,  10  years;  Lewis  Males,  6  years;  Amos  Sanford,  3 
years ;  Borden  Sanford,  10  years ;  Augustus  Smith,  10  years ;  George 
Smith,  6  years  ;  Ira  Smith,  13  years  ;  Henry  Studwell,  20  years  ;  William 
A.  White,  15  years  ;  William  White,  14  years. 


25 


five  ferries,  under  the  management  of  one  company,  is 
clearly  expedient  ? 

It  is  believed  that  this  arrangement  is  vital  to  the  pros- 
perity of  Brooklyn  and  indispensable  for  the  convenience 
of  its  citizens. 

The  ferries  conducted  by  the  Union  Ferry  Company  are 
from — 

1.  Hamilton  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  to  Whitehall  Slip,  New-York. 

2.  South,  (from  Atlantic  St.,)  Brooklyn,  to  Whitehall  Slip,  New-York. 

3.  Montague  Street,  "        to  Wail  Street,  " 

4.  Fulton        "  "        to  Fulton  "  " 

5.  Main  "  "       to  Catharine  Street,  " 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  people  of  Brooklyn  must 
be  enabled  to  cross  upon  each  of  these  ferries  at  the  same 
price.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  man  whose  daily  route 
is  across  the  Hamilton  Avenue  Ferry  should  be  required 
to  pay  more  than  the  man  who  crosses  at  Fulton  street  or 
Wall  street  or  at  Catharine  street. 

On  the  contrary,  the  transit  across  each  of  these  ferries 
should,  like  the  passage  through  the  streets  themselves,  be 
equally  open  and  free  from  any  difference  of  expense.  Any 
other  rule  will  operate  unequally  and  unjustly  on  all  those 
inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  whose  pursuits  do  not  lead  them 
to  cross  the  Fulton  Ferry.  That  ferry  is  the  only  one 
which  more  than  defrays  its  expenses  from  its  receipts,  and 
the  other  four  ferries  are  now  sustained  by  the  profits  de- 
rived from  that  ferry. 

It  will  be  seen  from  Mr.  Perry's  affidavit  that  in  the  last 
year 

The  Hamilton  Ferry  was  run  at  a  loss  of  .    .    .  $16,585 
"  South  "  "        "       "      .    .    .  25,240 

"    Wall  Street  "  "         "       "    ,    .    .  30,579 

"   Catharine    "  "        "       «      .    .    .  18,823 

not  including  the  very  large  amount  of  depreciation  by 
wear  and  tear. 

Thus  it  is  plain  that  the  large  receipts  of  the  Fulton 
Ferry  are  absolutely  necessary  to  give  to  those  who  use 


26 


the  other  four  ferries  the  means  of  crossing  at  the  same 
price. 

It  is  believed  that  the  people  of  Brooklyn  will  never 
consent  to  a  separation  of  these  ferries,  which  would  com- 
pel those  crossing  at  other  streets  than  Fulton,  to  pay 
higher  fare  than  those  who  cross  at  that  point. 

The  great  depreciation  of  property  which  would  follow, 
and  the  injustice  to  passengers,  can  never  permit  a  fare  of 
one  cent  on  the  Fulton  Ferry  ;  the  discontinuance  (which 
would  necessarily  result)  of  at  least  two  of  the  others ;  a 
fare  of  three,  four,  or  five  cents  on  the  remainder  ;  and  the 
danger  which  would  follow  from  over-crowding  the  Fulton 
Ferry.  The  five  ferries  must  be  sustained  by  the  receipts 
of  all,  and  the  deficit  in  those  which  can  not  pay  their  way 
must  be  paid  by  that  from  whioh  a  surplus  is  derived.  On 
any  other  principle  the  post-ofiices  of  the  country  could 
not  be  sustained.  This  system  is  vital  to  the  interests  of 
Brooklyn. 

Fulton  Street  is,  and  for  ages  has  been,  the  great  central 
point  for  crossing  from  Long  Island  to  New- York.*  It  is 
the  great  travel-worn  channel.  The  growth  and  expansion 
of  Brooklyn  have  been  lateral  from  Fulton  Street  each 
way,  north  and  south.  The  Fulton  Ferry  is  short  in  dis- 
tance, and  being  at  all  times  employed  to  its  full  capacity, 
can  transport  passengers  and  property  at  cheaper  expense 
and  rates  than  any  other.  The  travel  over  this  ferry  is 
immensely  increased  by  the  construction  of  the  Brooklyn 
City  Railroads,  all  of  which  start  from  and  converge  at  the 
ferry  gates.  The  termini  of  most  of  the  New-York  City 
Railroads  are  nearer  to  the  Fulton  than  to  any  of  the  other 
ferries  on  the  New- York  side  of  the  river.  As  a  necessary 
consequence  the  proportion  of  persons  crossing  at  the  other 
ferries  is  diminished,  and  their  means  of  self-support  are 
thereby  also  diminished. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  union  of  these  ferries  is 

*  I  have  added  in  an  appendix  (post  p.  43,)  as  part  of  the  ferry  annals  of 
Brooklyn,  some  historical  facts  and  documents  which  may  interest  the  curious 
on  such  subjects. 


27 


indispensable  in  order  that  the  surplus  receipts  of  the  Ful- 
ton Ferry  may  be  resorted  to  as  the  means  whereby  those 
who  cross  at  the  other  four  points  may  do  so  at  the  same 
price,  and  with  equal  accommodations. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  discontinuance  of  any  of  the  other 
ferries  would  increase  still  more  unequally  the  passage  over 
that  at  Fulton  street.  If  for  no  different  reason  than  as  a 
relief  to  the  latter,  the  continuance  of  the  others  is  import- 
ant, to  say  nothing  of  the  convenience  of  the  great  num- 
bers of  our  citizens  whose  daily  errands  are  across  those 
other  ferries. 

It  need  hardly  be  added  that  the  five  ferries  united  can 
be  conducted  at  less  expense  than  they  could  be  separately. 
The  repair  shops,  spare  boats,  coal  depots,  materials,  and 
organization  of  a  single  company,  with  its  officers  and 
clerks,  as  a  whole,  involve  much  less  expenditure  than 
would  be  required  by  five  different  establishments. 

The  Committee  need  not  be  told  that  the  expense  of 
running  these  ferries  is,  at  present  prices  of  all  things  used 
by  them,  enormous.  The  Company  have  refrained  from 
raising  the  price  of  passage  on  them  to  meet  the  great 
increase  of  expense,  and  the  consequence  has  been  that,  (if 
we  allow  a  dividend  of  ten  per  cent  to  the  shareholders,) 
they  have  been  run  at  a  loss  of  $50,000  per  annum  for  the 
last  two  years. 

The  expense  of  boats  such  as  are  now  used,  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  previously  running  on  the  ferries.  These 
large  steam  vessels  cost,  at  present  prices,  from  $60,000  to 
$70,000  each.  Thirteen  of  them  are  constantly  running, 
consuming  in  their  thirteen  furnaces  by  day,  and  part  of 
them  by  night,  very  many  ship-loads  of  coal ;  the  ferries 
requiring  in  their  management,  on  the  most  economical 
system  consistent  with  efficiency,  the  services  of  between 
300  and  400  men,  who  are  constantly  employed  as  clerks, 
engineers,  pilots,  ferry-masters,  conductors,  gatemen,  bridge- 
men,  deck-hands,  firemen,  watchmen,  carpenters,  black- 


28 


smiths,  shipwrights,  painters,  cartmen,  lampmen,  laborers, 
etc.,  and  the  Company  paying  to  the  city  of  New- York 
per  annum,  for  leases,  $103,000 ;  and  $20,000  for  rents  of 
private  slips  in  New- York  and  Brooklyn,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  great  and  constant  depreciation  by  wear  and  tear. 

Although  the  Union  Ferry  Company  is,  by  some  of  its 
enemies,  termed  a  monopoly,  no  epithet  could  be  less  appli- 
cable. If  the  Company  held  the  Fulton  Ferry  alone,  un- 
encumbered by  the  others,  and  were  receiving  and  appro- 
priating its  great  profits  to  their  own  use,  then  the  term 
monopoly  would  not  be  misapplied.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  con- 
verse of  a  monopoly.  Nothing  could  savor  less  of  a  mono- 
poly than  the  application  to  the  ferry  accommodations  of 
other  parts  of  Brooklyn  of  the  profits  derived  from  the 
only  one  of  the  establishments  which  is  lucrative,  instead 
of  confining  the  benefits  resulting  therefrom  to  one  section 
or  locality. 

The  management  of  the  ferries  under  one  organization  is 
no  more  a  monopoly  than  the  management  of  our  city 
streets  or  other  municipal  affairs  under  one  city  govern- 
ment is  a  monopoly.  If  it  be  a  monopoly  to  run  all  the 
five  ferries  at  the  lowest  fare  consistent  with  their  efficiency 
and  safety — to  treat  their  revenues  as  a  common  fund,  and 
to  apply  that  fund  to  the  support  of  all,  so  that  the  people 
in  every  section  shall  have  their  ferry  accommodations  at 
the  same  price — then  it  is  not  probable  that  the  citizens  of 
Brooklyn  will  desire  the  management  of  the  ferries  to  be 
conducted  otherwise  than  under  such  a  monopoly. 

The  Committee  will  find  the  history  of  the  ferries,  and 
their  organization  under  one  company,  concisely  stated  in 
the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Perry.  The  names  of  the  Directors  are 
there  given.  They  would  not,  I  am  aware,  assent  to  my 
speaking  of  them  in  terms  of  commendation,  but  I  may  safe- 
ly say  that  if  they  have  not  a  deep  stake  in  the  prosperity  of 
Brooklyn — if  they  are  not  largely  interested  in  maintaining 
the  best,  the  amplest,  and  the  safest  ferry  accommodations — 
if  they  are  not  men  whose  high  personal  standing,  intelli- 
gence, experience,  and  fidelity  to  duty,  can  be  relied  on  in 


29 

i 


the  administration  of  this  great  public  trust — then  our  city 
can  furnish  none  to  whom  it  can  be  safely  confided. 

It  will  be  an  evil  day,  indeed,  for  Brooklyn  if  the  con- 
trol of  these  ferries  shall,  at  any  time,  pass  into  the  hands 
of  speculators  or  politicians,  in  place  of  those  by  whom 
they  are  now  conducted. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  large  amount  of  rent  paid  by  the 
Company  to  the  city  of  New- York,  for  leases  of  the  ferries, 
for  the  information  of  the  Committee,  and  not  from  a  desire 
to  disturb  any  rights  of  that  city.  The  authority  to  lease 
ferry  slips  is  one  of  its  properties,  and  the  burden  of  paying 
for  such  leases  falls  mainly,  and  heavily,  on  the  citizens  of 
Brooklyn.  If  any  provision  can  be  legally  and  justly  made 
by  which  that  right  of  New- York  can  be  commuted,  the 
interests  of  Brooklyn  will  be  thereby  promoted,  and  to  none 
of  its  citizens  will  such  a  result  be  more  welcome  than  to 
the  Directors  of  this  Company. 

I  have,  perhaps,  trespassed  unduly  on  your  time,  gentle- 
men, by  these  remarks,  but  I  have  been  led  to  do  so  be- 
cause the  Company  has  nothing  to  conceal,  and  because  it 
welcomes  any  opportunity  to  make  a  full  exposition  of  its 
affairs,  its  motives,  its  policy,  and  its  conduct  before  a  Board 
of  honorable,  intelligent,  and  fair-minded  men.  It  does  not 
expect — it  does  not  ask — (for  that  would  be  vain) — candor, 
fair  dealing,  or  justice  from  many  of  those  who  assail  it. 
Its  experience  has  shown  how  idle  would  be  such  expecta- 
tion. At  one  time  it  has  been  charged  that  the  Company 
and  its  stockholders  were  receiving  enormous  profits  from 
those  who  cross  its  ferries  at  one  and  a  half  cent  passage, 
and  has  been  therefore  denounced  as  mercenary.  In  reply, 
it  was  shown  that  the  shareholders  can  not  in  any  contin- 
gency receive  more  than  ten  per  cent  for  the  use  and  risks 
of  their  property  ;  and  that,  by  its  voluntary  agreement,  the 
surplus  earnings  of  the  Company  beyond  ten  per  cent  must 
be  paid  as  a  free  gift  to  the  Brooklyn  City  Hospital. 

Thereupon  these  same  ingenuous,  benevolent,  fair-minded 
critics  objected,  with  equal  earnestness  of  reproach,  that  no 


30 


motive  existed  on  the  part  of  the  Company  and  its  Directors 
to  run  the  ferries  vigorously  and  make  them  profitable,  as 
they  would  do  if  they  had  the  inducement  of  personal  gain 
to  impel  them. 

It  is  idle  to  reason  with  or  reply  to  such  people,  but  to 
any  and  every  inquiry  by  this  Honorable  Committee  we 
desire  to  give  the  fullest  information  that  they  may  seek. 

The  affidavits  we  have  placed  before  you,  gentlemen, 
embrace  the  facts  respecting  which  we  understood  you  to 
ask  a  statement.  We  produced  before  you  each  of  the 
deponents  who  made  those  affidavits  in  order  that  further 
questions  might  be  put  to  them  on  any  point  respecting 
which  you  should  seek  further  information. 

If  you,  at  any  time,  desire  their  further  attendance,  they 
will  wait  upon  you  at  such  time  and  place  as  you  may 
designate. 

I  beg  to  add  the  single  remark,  that  in  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  at  Albany,  is  filed  the  annual  report  of 
the  Directors,  showing  the  amount  of  the  capital  stock  of 
the  Company  paid  in,  the  property  and  effects  of  the  Com- 
pany on  hand,  the  debts  due  from  the  Company,  and  the 
names  and  places  of  residence  of  the  stockholders. 


AFFIDAVITS 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE   COMMITTEE  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 
ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  UNION  FERRY  COMPANY 
OF  BROOKLYN. 

City  of  Brooklyn,  ss.  : 

Joseph  A.  Perry,  being  sworn,  says,  that  he  is  the  Treasurer  and 
a  Director  of  the  Union  Ferry  Company  of  Brooklyn ;  that  he  has 
been  connected  with  the  ferries  between  New- York  and  Brooklyn  from 
1836  to  this  time.  I  was  one  of  the  lessees  and  managers  of  the  South 
or  Atlantic  Ferry,  which  was  commenced  in  1836,  and  of  which  the 
lease  expired  in  1839. 

The  fare  was  fixed  at  three  cents — the  Fulton  Ferry  then  charged 
four  cents.  The  expenses  of  the  South  Ferry  greatly  exceeded  its  re- 
ceipts, and  toward  the  close  of  the  lease  it  was  only  sustained  by  em- 
ploying one  and  sometimes  two  of  the  three  boats  in  the  business  of 
towing  vessels.  The  TTall  street  and  Hamilton  avenue  Ferries  had  not 
then  been  established. 

Finding  that  the  ferry  could  not  pay  its  expenses  from  its  receipts, 
a  new  company  was  formed,  consisting  of  the  Fulton  Ferry  and  the 
South  Ferry.  This  was  the  first  Union  Ferry  Company.  Under  this 
organization  the  two  ferries  were  run  for  five  years — from  1839  to  18-44 
— the  rate  of  ferriage  being  four  cents.  In  May,  1842,  it  was  reduced 
to  three  cents,  and  in  February,  1844,  to  two  cents. 

Then  a  new  lease  was  obtained  by  Messrs.  Le  Roy  and  Pierrepont, 
for  seven  years — from  May,  1844,  to  1851 — of  the  Fulton  and  South 
Ferries.  The  Hamilton  Avenue  Ferry  was  run  by  this  new  Company 
at  the  request  of  persons  interested  in  the  Atlantic  Docks,  who  entered 
into  a  formal  agreement  to  indemnify  the  lessees  against  any  loss  from 
running  it.  The  parties  giving  this  indemnity  paid  the  lessees,  for 
losses  in  running  the  ferry,  between  $20,000  and  $30,000,  as  it  did  not 
pay  its  expenses.  In  November,  1850,  the  fare  was  reduced  to  one 
cent  on  the  three  ferries.  The  lease  expired  in  1851,  and  a  new  lease 
was  given  to  the  same  lessees,  from  1851  to  1861,  for  the  Fulton, 
South,  and  Hamilton  Ferries,  with  right  to  the  lessees  to  include  other 
ferries  to  be  established. 

In  December,  1853,  the  "Wall,  Catharine,  Roosevelt,  and  Gouverneur 
Ferries  were  purchased  and  run  by  the  L'nion  Company,  and  one  cent 
ferriage  charged  on  all  of  them. 

In  August,  1854,  finding  that  the  receipts  would  not  pay  the  ex- 
penses at  one  cent  fare,  it  was  raised  to  two  cents,  and  tickets  sold  at 
one  and  a  half  cents. 

The  lease  of  the  Gouverneur  street  Ferry  expired  in  September,  1856. 
and  was  not  renewed,  and  the  Roosevelt  Ferry  was  sold  in  1860,  and 


32 


is  now  run  between  Roosevelt  street,  in  New- York,  and  Williams- 
burgh,  by  another  company. 

In  1861,  on  the  expiration  of  the  lease  above  named,  a  law  having 
been  passed  requiring  ferry  leases  to  be  sold  by  auction,  the  present 
Company  became  the  purchasers,  at  such  auction,  of  the  lease  of  the 
five  ferries  now  run  by  it — the  Catharine,  Fulton,  Wall,  South,  and 
Hamilton — at  an  annual  rent  of  $103,000,  payable  to  the  city  of  New- 
York. 

For  two  years  past,  after  deducting  ten  per  cent  dividends  to  the 
stockholders,  the  Company  has  run  its  boats  at  a  loss  of  $50,000  per 
annum.  For  further  particulars  as  to  the  liabilities  and  assets  of  the 
Company  and  the  names  of  the  stockholders,  deponent  respectfully  re- 
fers to  the  annual  sworn  statement  of  the  Company,  which  is  pursuant 
to  law,  ("  Act  to  authorize  the  formation  of  companies  for  ferry  pur- 
poses," passed  April  9,  1853,  sec.  16,)  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  in  the  other  officer  required  by  law. 

The  organization  of  this  Company  contemplates,  by  the  voluntary 
agreement  of  its  lessees  and  stockholders,  that  it  shall  not  be  conducted 
with  a  view  to  speculation,  and  that  it  shall  not  become  an  object  for 
speculators  to  obtain  the  control  thereof.  It  is  distinctly  provided  by 
the  certificate  of  incorporation  that  the  net  profits,  over  and  above  pay- 
ing dividends  of  ten  per  cent  to  stockholders,  and  the  improvement  of 
the  ferries,  "  shall  be  paid  over  as  a  free  gift  to  the  Brooklyn  City  Hos- 
pital." Under  the  various  leases,  neither  the  lessees,  Directors,  nor 
stockholders,  were  under  any  obligation  to  limit  the  amount  of  divi- 
dends or  profits  to  be  made  or  retained;  and  the  provision  above 
named  for  the  payment  of  the  surplus  to  the  Hospital  was  made  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  disinterested  administration  and  operation 
of  the  ferries  for  the  best  interests  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  and  the 
citizens  thereof. 

The  capital  consists  of  $800,000,  of  which  amount  $24,300  is  held  by 
the  fifteen  Directors.  There  are  about  550  stockholders,  most  of  whom 
reside  in  Suffolk,  Queens,  and  Kings  counties. 

The  names  of  the  Directors  are,  Cyrus  P.  Smith,  James  S.  T.  Sjtrana- 
han,  Henry  E.  Pierrepont,  Abiel  A.  Low,  Henry  R.  Worthington, 
Nathan  B.  Morse,  Walter  N.  Degraw,  Horace  B.  Claflin,  John  Blunt, 
James  How,  Abraham  B.  Bay  lis,  Simeon  B.  Chittenden,  Edward 
Dodge,  Charles  E.  Bill,  and  Joseph  A.  Perry. 

The  Directors  meet  monthly,  as  a  Board  and  as  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee, meet  weekly.    All  the  meetings  are  regular  and  fully  attended. 

The  Directors  receive  no  salaries,  except  the  President,  Managing 
Director,  Treasurer,*  and  Auditor — all  whose  compensation  combined 
amounts  to  $14,375. 

The  number  of  passages  (including  those  who  cross  in  vehicles)  is 
estimated  at  about  40,000,000  annually. 


*  Cashier. 


33 


During  the  operation  of  the  ferries,  in  the  period  above  mentioned  of 
thirty-one  years,  but  two  accidents  have  occurred  on  board  the  boats 
resulting  in  loss  of  life — one  being  the  case  of  a  person  injured  by  the 
willful  running  of  a  sloop  into  the  boat  by  a  person  having  charge  of 
such  sloop,  and  the  other  the  case  of  a  woman  who,  leaning  her  arm 
outside  the  boat  as  it  passed  into  the  slip,  was  crushed  against  the  fen- 
der.   Both  these  accidents  occurred  some  fifteen  years  ago,  or  more. 

The  rules  of  the  ferry  require  its  employees  to  report  to  the  office  of 
the  Company  every  case  of  accident  to  persons  occurring  at  any  of  the 
ferries  ;  and,  as  deponent  believes,  all  such  cases  are  faithfully  so  re- 
ported. Deponent,  owing  to  the  illness  and  absence  from  the  office  of 
Mr.  C.  P.  Smith,  the  Managing  Director,  has  not  access  to  all  the  sta- 
tistics, which  are  under  his  charge,  but  is  able  to  state  that  in  the  year 
1805  eleven  persons,  in  jumping  on  or  off  the  boats,  fell  into  the  water, 
and  each  of  them  was  saved  and  drawn  out.  One  person  committed 
suicide,  by  springing  from  the  boat  while  she  was  on  the  river  making 
her  passage. 

In  1866  fourteen  persons,  in  jumping  on  or  off  the  boats,  fell  into  the 
water,  one  of  whom  was  drowned,  and  each  of  the  others  was  saved. 
One  committed  suicide  by  jumping  from  the  boat  while  she  was  on  the 
river  making  her  passage. 

To  the  best  of  deponent's  belief,  the  proportion  of  such  casualties  on 
any  and  all  the  ferries  of  the  Company,  in  previous  years,  did  not  ex- 
ceed annually  the  number  of  those  above  mentioned.  It  is  believed 
by  the  Directors  that  any  of  the  suggested  gates  or  other  restraints,  to 
prevent  passengers  from  going  prematurely  or  unseasonably  on  or  off 
the  boats,  would  tend  to  endanger  them  to  a  greater  degree  than  they 
now  incur. 

The  indispensable  necessity  of  a  union  of  the  ferries,  to  enable  them 
to  be  run  with  their  present  accommodations,  results  from  the  fact  that 
not  one  of  them  pays  the  expenses  of  running  it  except  the  Fulton,  and 
that  the  surplus  earnings  of  that  ferry  are  necessary  to  sustain  the 
others.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  deponent  would  cite  the  results  of 
the  year's  business,  ending  first  of  May,  1866.    During  that  year 

The  Hamilton  Ferry  was  run  at  a  loss  of  $16,585 

"  South        "  "  "    25,240 

"  Wall  street  "  «'    30,579 

"  Catharine    "  "  "    18,823 

In  this  result  is  not  included  what  should  be  added  to  it — the  amount 
of  depreciation  by  wear  and  tear  of  boats,  buildings,  and  fixtures. 

Pending  the  proceedings  before  the  Committee,  an  intimation  was 
made  that  the  Company  had  purchased  land  with  warehouses  thereon, 
and  that  they  had  built  dwelling-houses  thereon,  as  a  speculation. 
This  is  not  true.    The  Company,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  repair 
3 


34 


shops  and  slips  for  laying  up  boats,  in  1855  bought  the  property  re- 
ferred to,  near  Hamilton  Avenue  Ferry.  The  houses  mentioned  were 
already  upon  it,  and  were  not  built  by  the  Company.  It  was  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  get  what  was  needed,  to  purchase  the  whole.  Owing 
to  the  obstruction  at  that  point  by  the  ice  in  1857,  the  Company  de- 
cided that  the  place  would  be  unsuitable  for  the  uses  intended,  and 
thereupon  sold  it  all,  except  a  part  retained  for  a  ferry  coal-yard  and 
an  additional  slip  for  ferry  purposes,  and  afterward  bought  the  site 
of  the  present  repair  shop,  near  the  South  Ferry.  No  warehouse 
was  on  the  land  when  it  was  either  bought  or  sold  by  the  Company. 
Deponent  says  that  nothing  is  less  true  than  that  the  Company  pays 
for  any  of  its  purchases,  or  contracts  a  higher  price  than  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  effect  the  same.  In  all  its  dealings  careful  economy  is 
studied,  and  no  waste  of  the  property  of  the  Company  is  in  any  way 
permitted,  nor  is  any  favoritism  with  any  persons  practiced  or  known 
in  its  dealings. 

Deponent  says  that  he  has  been  Treasurer  of  said  Company  for  over 
twenty  years,  and  has  knowledge  of  all  its  pecuniary  dealings. 

Deponent  further  says  that  it  has  been  the  study  of  the  Company  to 
make  every  improvement  in  the  ferries  that  could  promote  the  conve- 
nience and  safety  of  the  passengers  and  the  facilities  for  transportation, 
and  that,  among  other  things,  the  subject  of  iron  instead  of  wooden 
boats  has  been  carefully  considered  ;  that  they  caused  full  examina- 
tion and  inquiry  to  be  made  by  competent  persons,  including  experts, 
as  to  the  expediency  of  substituting  such  iron  vessels,  and  that  the 
result  was  the  conviction  that  they  would  be  less  practicable  and  less 
safe  than  those  now  used. 

Deponent  further  says,  that  during  the  thirty-one  years  as  to  which 
he  has  deposed,  no  person  has  sustained  injury  from  fire  on  any  of  the 
boats,  or  from  explosion  of  boilers ;  that  said  boats  are  annually  in- 
spected by  United  States  officers,  and  are  by  them  authorized  to  carry 
forty  pounds  of  steam ;  but  they  do  not,  in  fact,  carry  over  twenty -five 
pounds. 

Deponent  further  says,  that  as  to  the  statement  by  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses to  the  effect  that  an  iron  ferry -house  has  been  built  by  the  Com- 
pany, at  an  expense  of  $200,000,  the  facts  are  simply  these,  namely: 

The  Company  has  built  a  substantial  iron  ferry-house  at  Fulton 
Ferry,  in  New-York,  the  cost  of  which,  including  expensive  pile  foun- 
dations, was  $39,334.08.  The  Company  built  at  Whitehall  their  only 
other  iron  ferry -house,  which  is  for  the  accommodation  of  the  South 
and  Hamilton  avenue  Ferries,  and  the  same,  including  the  expensive 
pile  foundations,  cost  $73,500.  J.  A.  PERRY. 

Sworn  to  before  me,  this  9th  day  of  February,  1867. 

Francis  De  Pfuhl,  Notary  Public. 


35 


City  of  Brooklyn,  ss.  : 

James  McFarlan,  being  sworn,  says  that  he  is  and  has,  for  about  fifty 
years  past,  been  engaged  in  business  as  an  engineer ;  that  he  has  been 
engaged  in  superintending  the  construction  of  steam  engines  and  of 
steamboats ;  that  he  has  been  thus  engaged  on  the  Brooklyn  ferries  for 
about  forty  years ;  and  has  for  the  last  three  years  been  acting  on  said 
ferries  as  consulting  engineer;  that  he  was  engaged  on  the  South 
Ferry  in  1837,  1838,  and  1839,  and  had  charge  as  chief  engineer  of  the 
boats  on  that  ferry ;  they  were  the  New-  York,  the  Brooklyn,  and  Ja- 
maica. The  South  Ferry  became  united  with  the  Union  Ferry  Com- 
pany in  May,  1839,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present,  except  for  a  period 
of  about  two  months,  deponent  has  been  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Union 
Ferry  Company ;  the  Company  has  and  uses  on  its  five  ferries  sixteen 
large  steam  ferry-boats,  of  which  thirteen  are  kept  steadily  running,  and 
three  are  kept  as  relief  boats,  to  be  used  as  occasion  may,  from  time  to 
time,  require,  when  any  of  the  others  may  need  repairs.  These  boats 
are  all  in  good  running  order.  The  smallest  is  500  tons,  and  the  largest 
is  642  tons. 

The  smallest  boats  have  cylinders  of  38  inches  diameter  and  eight 
feet  stroke.  The  largest  have  cylinders  of  40  inches  diameter  and  ten 
feet  stroke.  The  medium  sized  boats  have  cylinders  of  38  inches  diame- 
ter and  nine  feet  stroke. 

The  smallest  boat  is  151  feet  and  one  inch  in  length,  and  the  largest 
172  feet  and  seven  inches. 

The  medium  boats  are  about  163  feet  in  length. 

One  of  the  boats  was  built  in  1853,  one  in  1854,  two  in  1859,  three 
in  1860,  five  in  1862,  three  in  1863,  and  one  in  1866. 

The  length,  tonnage,  and  engines  of  the  Brooklyn  and  New-  York,  of 
which  I  have  spoken  as  being  employed  on  the  South  Ferry  (and  which 
are  not  now  owned  by  the  Union  Ferry  Company)  were  as  follows : 

The  length  of  the  Brooklyn  was  160  feet ;  her  cylinder  was  36  inches 
and  7  feet  and  a  half  stroke. 

The  length  of  boat  and  dimensions  of  cylinder  of  the  New-  York  were 
the  same. 

The  Brooklyn  and  New-  York  were  each  304  tons. 

The  power  of  the  smallest  boat  now  owned  by  the  Union  Ferry  Com- 
pany is  twenty  per  cent  greater  than  either  of  said  boats,  the  Brooklyn 
and  New-  York,  and  the  larger  boats  are  of  sixty-five  per  cent  greater 
power. 

The  present  boats  of  the  Company  are  stronger  and  better  adapted  to 
ferry  purposes  than  the  boats  of  1836  and  1837,  such  as  the  said  Brook- 
lyn and  New- York. 

Every  thing  has  been  done,  whenever  a  new  boat  has  been  built,  to 
make  it  an  improvement  on  those  which  had  been  previously  built. 

All  the  present  boats  are  unusually  strong  by  having  on  the  water  line 


36 


forty  feet  of  solid  timber  back  from  each  bow  toward  the  middle  of  the 
vessel.  This  peculiar  strengthening  is  made  with  special  reference  to 
forcing  them  into  ice,  and  to  render  them  as  safe  as  possible  in  contact 
with  the  ice,  and  for  the  purpose  generally  of  giving  them  all  practicable 
strength  and  security. 

In  constructing  them,  every  thing  that  the  long  experience  of  the 
ferries  had  suggested  or  taught,  has  been  profited  by  and  applied  in 
building  them  to  render  them  perfect.  I  have  bad  unlimited  authority 
from  the  Company  as  to  expense  in  building  them  ;  and  my  instruc- 
tions and  authority  from  the  Company  have  always  been  to  have  the 
boats  and  their  engines  built  in  the  best  possible  manner ;  and  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  thing  has  been  omitted  which  could  conduce  to  that 
result. 

During  the  thirty  years  that  I  have  been  connected  with  these  ferries 
there  has  not  been  a  solitary  instance  of  the  explosion  of  a  boiler,  or 
injury  by  steam  to  any  passenger  or  other  person  on  any  of  the  boats. 

On  the  Catharine  and  Fulton  Ferries,  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  run 
longer  boats  than  are  now  used  on  them,  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of 
time  and  difficulty  of  navigation  across  those  ferries  which  would  result, 
from  the  narrowness  of  the  river  at  those  points.  On  the  three  lower 
ferries — the  Wall,  Atlantic,  and  Hamilton— there  is  no  occasion  or  use 
for  larger  boats  than  are  now  used  on  them. 

The  JRoslyn  is  one  of  our  relief  boats,  and  was  used  on  one  or  more 
days  during  the  recent  ice  flow.  She  is  a  strong,  good  boat;  was  built 
in  1860,  and  is  perfectly  sound.  JAMES  McFARLAN. 

Sworn  before  me,  this  9th  day  of  February,  1867. 

Francis  De  Pfuhl, 

Notary  Public. 

City  of  Brooklyn,  ss.  : 

William  H.  Martin,  being  sworn,  says:  I  am  chief  engineer  of  the 
Union  Ferry  Company,  and  have  been  so  for  three  years.  I  have 
charge  of  the  boats,  machinery,  and  their  repairs.  I  succeeded  Mr. 
McFarlan.  Have  been  connected  with  the  ferries  since  1845,  and  was 
assistant  of  Mr.  McFarlan  for  about  fifteen  years. 

The  Company  has  a  repair  shop  and  yard  at  foot  of  Atlantic  street ; 
the  yard  is  about  300  feet  front  on  the  river;  it  is  all  necessary  for  the 
purposes  of  the  ferry.  The  carpenters'  shop,  machine  shop,  and  black- 
smiths' shop  are  all  there.  We  have  about  100  men  employed  there  ; 
all  the  repairs  of  the  boats  and  their  machinery  are  carried  on  there. 

In  consequence  of  the  ice,  this  season,  we  have  had  a  very  unusual 
amount  of  work  to  do  on  the  boats:  two  shafts  were  broken  during  the 
ice  in  forcing  the  boats  through  it;  they  were  of  wrought  iron  ;  we  had 
to  replace  them  ;  the  wheels  of  the  boats  were  constantly  damaged  by  the 
ice,  and  we  had  as  much  as  we  could  do  to»repair  them  ;  we  have  had, 


37 


in  some  cases,  to  work  all  night,  and  on  Sundays,  to  make  the 
repairs. 

In  1857  we  had  seven  boats  disabled  from  ice  in  one  day  ;  owing  to 
the  improvements  of  the  wheels  and  the  heavy  iron  rims  thereon,  we 
have  sustained  less  damage  this  year  than  then. 

We  have  tried  various  experiments  in  sheathing  the  bows,  to  prevent 
injury  from  ice. 

Instead  of  exterior  planking  we  tried  galvanized  iron,  which  was 
found  not  to  answer  on  account  of  rust;  we  have  now  put  on  them  ex- 
tremely heavy  copper. 

To  guard  against  fire  we  make  very  careful  arrangements.  On  every 
boat  we  have  Worthington's  powerful  steam  pump,  capable  of  throwing 
five  streams,  each  as  large  as  the  city  fire  engines  throw.  To  these  en- 
gines we  have  two  lengths  of  hose  of  fifty  feet,  at  all  times  attached — 
part  on  the  upper  and  part  on  the  lower  deck.  Then  there  are  on  each 
boat  two  extra  lengths  to  be  used  when  required.  The  boats,  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  power  of  these  engines,  are  put  in  requisition  fre- 
quently in  case  of  fires  on  the  docks  or  in  ships. 

In  addition  to  this,  we  have  a  new  arrangement,  which  we  are  about 
applying,  which  will  drench  the  interior  of  the  engine-room,  or  midship 
house,  immediately  on  turning  a  valve,  without  the  use  of  the  hose. 

The  boats  are  all  lighted  with  gas — no  kerosene  oil  is  used,  even  for 
lubricating  the  machinery,  and  as  little  whale  oil  is  used  as  possible. 

WILLIAM  H.  MARTIN. 

Sworn  to  before  me,  this  9th  day  of  February,  1867. 

Francis  De  Pfuiil, 

Notary  Public. 

City  of  Brooklyn,  ss.  : 

Amos  Sanford,  being  sworn,  says  : 

I  am,  and  have  been,  in  the  employ  of  the  Union  Ferry  Company  for 
about  six  years,  and  for  three  years  of  that  time  have  been  a  pilot ;  I 
have  been  engaged  on  steamboats  about  ten  years  ;  I  was  the  pilot  of, 
and  in  charge  of,  the  Roslyn  on  the  recent  occasion  of  her  detention  by 
ice  on  the  Wall  street  Ferry  ;  the  tide  at  the  time  was  strong  flood ;  the 
ice  at  that  time  of  tide,  and  on  that  occasion,  was  very  heavy  and  com- 
pact on  the  Brooklyn  side  of  the  river,  and  less  so,  and  with  a  clear 
streak,  near  the  New- York  shore  ;  I  left  the  foot  of  Wall  street  from 
three  to  half-past  three,  with  a  heavy  load  of  passengers  and  carts ;  I 
made  repeated  trials  to  force  her  through  the  ice,  but,  owing  to  its  ex- 
treme thickness  and  quantity,  was  unable  to  do  so  ;  I  went  back  into  the 
clear  water,  and  moved  about,  waiting  for  a  practicable  place  to  work 
through  ;  no  such  place  was  found  ;  while  I  was  thus  occupied,  a  heavy 
field  of  ice  was  coming  up  on  the  flood,  reaching  from  one  side  of  the  river 
to  the  other ;  to  avoid  being  caught  and  swept  by  it  up  the  river,  it  be- 
came necessary  for  me  to  put  back  into  the  slip  for  shelter,  which  I  did  ; 
the  Republic,  having  no  load  of  consequence  on  board,  was  better  able , 


38 


by  her  lightness,  and  by  the  tide  being  in  her  favor,  to  work  her  way 
across  to  the  New- York  side.  It  often  happens  that,  by  the  position  of 
the  ice  at  the  time,  one  boat  may  get  the  advantage  and  make  a  second 
trip,  while  one  less  favorably  circumstanced,  especially  if  heavily  load- 
ed with  passengers,  may  miss  a  trip  ;  the  Roslyn  is  a  good,  strong,  and 
serviceable  boat,  but  our  power  was  somewhat  diminished  at  the  time 
by  being  compelled  to  feed  the  boiler  with  salt  water,  the  ice  having 
prevented  our  getting  to  Brooklyn  to  fill  our  tank  there  with  fresh 
water ;  the  mixing  of  salt  and  fresh  water  caused  the  boiler  to  foam, 
the  water  thereby  entering  the  cylinder  with  the  steam  reduced  the 
power  of  the  engine. 

AMOS  SANFORD. 

Sworn  to  before  me,  this  9th  day  of  February,  1867. 

Francis  De  Pfuhl, 

Notary  Public. 

City  of  Brooklyn,  ss.  : 

Luther  Smith,  being  sworn,  says  : 

I  am  the  Superintendent  of  Pilots  in  the  employment  of  the  Union 
Ferry  Company ;  I  have  been  engaged  on  the  ferries  between  New- 
York  and  Brooklyn  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  have  been  pilot  and 
superintendent  of  pilots  of  said  Company — as  pilot  for  about  nine 
years,  and  after  that  for  nearly  six  years  as  such  superintendent. 

My  duties  are  to  see  to  the  proper  running  of  the  boats  on  the  dif- 
ferent ferries  of  the  Company,  and  to  superintend  the  action  of  the 
pilots  and  hands  on  the  boats ;  I  go  from  ferry  to  ferry  several  times 
each  day  in  the  performance  of  my  duties. 

While  I  was  acting  as  pilot  on  the  South  Ferry,  I  was  familiar  with, 
and  acted  as  pilot  of,  the  boats  Brooklyn  and  New-  York  on  that  ferry  ; 
they  were  both  inferior  in  power,  structure,  and  strength  to  any  one 
now  held  by  the  Union  Ferry  Company,  and  were  less  fitted  to  encoun- 
ter ice  than  any  of  the  latter. 

During  the  recent  flow  of  ice  in  the  river,  I  had  active  and  constant 
supervision  and  direction  of  the  boats  on  the  different  ferries. 

I  can  say  with  emphasis  that  they  were  run  as  rapidly,  and  as  fre- 
quently, and  forced  through  the  ice  as  unsparingly  and  strongly  as  was 
practicable  and  consistent  with  the  safety  of  the  passengers  ;  the  boats 
did  not  lie  in  the  slips  a  minute  longer  than  their  usual  and  regular 
time  when  it  was  practicable  to  run  them  out  and  across  ;  it  is  of 
course  absolutely  necessary  to  have  reference  to  the  condition  and  quan- 
tity of  the  ice  that  may  be  passing,  and  it  would  be  very  improper  to 
go  out  of  the  slip  when  the  ice  passing  was  of  such  quantity,  compact- 
ness, or  size  that  the  boat  could  not  be  forced  through  it,  and  that  the 
result  would  be  that  she  would  become  locked  in  it  and  drifted  far  away 
from  her  landing-place. 

On  the  occasion  alluded  to  by  one  of  the  witnesses,  when  the  Roslyn 


39 


was  delayed  on  the  New- York  side,  or  in  the  river,  the  Republic  was 
on  the  Brooklyn  side,  in  the  slip ;  she  did  not  remain  there  at  all  wait- 
ing for  the  arrival  of  the  Roslyn  ;  I  was  at  the  Wall  street  Ferry,  on 
the  Brooklyn  side,  and  gave  directions  for  the  Republic  to  go  out  on 
the  first  occasion  when  the  condition  of  the  passing  ice  rendered  it 
practicable  ;  she  did  so. 

The  slip  was  wedged  full  of  ice,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  the 
boat  up  to  the  bridge  without  her  going  back  some  distance  and  making 
repeated  buttings  or  blows  against  it ;  this  is  often  the  case  during 
such  an  unusual  flow  of  ice  as  we  had  this  winter. 

The  boats  on  the  different  ferries  are  run  regularly  at  fixed  periods  ; 
on  the  Catharine  Ferry,  two  boats  run  every  ten  minutes,  from  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  in  winter,  and  four  o'clock  in  summer,  until 
nine  at  night ;  after  nine  o'clock,  a  boat  leaves  every  twenty  minutes 
until  midnight. 

On  the  Fulton  Ferry,  four  boats  are  run,  beginning  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  in  summer,  and  until  half-past  seven  at  night ;  they  run 
as  fast  as  they  can  be  run,  and  leave  as  often  as  every  five  minutes ; 
from  half-past  seven  until  one  the  next  morning,  two  boats  are  run, 
leaving  every  ten  minutes;  from  one  a.m.  until  four  a.m.  two  boats  are 
run,  leaving  every  fifteen  minutes.  When  any  occasion  arises  for  their 
being  run  more  frequently  in  the  night,  we  increase  the  number  ot 
trips. 

On  the  Wall  street  Ferry,  we  start,  in  summer,  one  boat  at  five  a.m., 
and  the  second  boat  at  ten  minutes  before  six,  and  run  two  boats  up  to 
eight  p.m.,  leaving  every  ten  minutes. 

From  eight  p.m.  to  eleven  p.m.,  one  boat  leaves  every  twenty  minutes. 

There  is  so  little  passing  on  the  "Wall  street  Ferry  after  night-fall  that, 
when  the  ice  is  very  heavy,  or  in  fogs,  the  trips  are  discontinued  after 
nine,  and  sometimes,  according  to  the  exigency  of  the  case,  earlier. 

On  the  Atlantic  street  Ferry,  two  boats  begin  at  four  a.m.,  and  run 
every  twelve  minutes  until  ten  p.m.,  then  one  runs  every  thirty  minutes 
all  night.  This  relates  to  the  summer.  In  winter,  two  boats  begin  one 
at  five  and  one  at  a  quarter  before  six,  and  run  as  above  until  half-past 
nine  p.m.,  and  then  one  boat  until  a  quarter  past  twelve. 

On  the  Hamilton  avenue  Ferry,  in  summer,  two  boats  begin  at  four 
a.m.,  and  run  every  fifteen  minutes  up  to  seven  a.m.,  then  a  third  boat 
comes  on,  and  they  leave  every  ten  minutes  up  to  six  p.m.  ;  from  six  to 
ten  p.m.,  two  boats  run  every  fifteen  minutes,  and  one  all  night,  from 
ten  p.m.,  every  thirty  minutes,  until  four  a.m 

In  winter,  when  the  ice  prevails,  and  is  very  heavy,  we  in  extreme 
cases  have  taken  off  one  boat  from  this  ferry.  In  the  winter  the  second 
boat  comes  on  at  a  quarter  before  six,  instead  of  four  a.m. 

There  are  made  on  the  five  ferries,  about  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
crossings  of  the  river  daily. 


40 


There  arc  twenty-nine  pilots  all  the  time  in  service  on  these  ferries 
and  three  relief-pilots,  who  are  occasionally  at  the  wheel. 

Our  deck  hands  are  selected  with  great  care,  in  order  that  we  may  be 
able  from  among  them  to  train  competent  and  skillful  pilots.  We 
always  take  as  deck  hands  only  such  men  as  have  had  experience  as 
boatmen. 

I  do  not  think  it  possible  to  train,  instruct,  and  provide  pilots  more 
effectually  than  is  done  on  these  ferries.  The  strictest  care  is  taken  to 
select  only  perfectly  sober,  judicious,  and  adroit  men.  The  qualities 
necessary  to  constitute  a  capable  pilot  are  by  no  means  common,  and 
many  men  who  would  make  good  sailors,  or  pilots  for  large  river  steam- 
ers, would  be  quite  incompetent  for  handling  ferry-boats  on  the  cross 
tides  and  eddies,  and  among  the  sailing  and  steam  vessels  that  crowd 
the  East  River.  An  intelligent  man,  who  learns  in  the  wheel-house 
from  the  experienced  pilots,  and  by  acting  with  them,  will  require  from 
one  to  five  years  before  we  intrust  him  with  the  charge  of  a  boat ;  and 
we  do  not  appoint  or  accept  as  pilots  more  than  one  in  twenty-five  of 
those  who  thus  practice  with  a  view  of  becoming  pilots. 

The  pilots  now  on  these  ferries  are  of  the  best  class.  I  do  not  believe 
there  are  better  in  the  world.  Three  of  them  have  been  pilots  on  these 
ferries  three  years  each,  one  of  them  thirty  years,  three  of  them  twelve 
years,  four  for  fourteen  years,  two  for  eighteen  years,  one  for  twenty 
years.  I  have  not  the  times  of  them  all  at  this  moment,  but  these 
occur  to  me,  and  the  times  are  about — I  think  exactly — what  I  state — 
not  less. 

"We  have  heretofore  had  occasion  to  receive  some  river  pilots  of  much 
experience  ;  but  after  trying  them  we  found  them  quite  incompetent  for 
the  peculiar  duties  of  ferry  navigation,  and  were  obliged  to  discharge 
them. 

The  rules  are  rigid  and  are  very  rarely  disobeyed,  requiring  strict 
decorum  and  propriety  of  deportment  and  language  on  the  part  of  all 
the  persons  employed  on  board  the  boats. 

The  pilot  is  the  captain,  and  has  charge  of  each  boat  during  her  trip. 
Any  advantage  which  could  be  derived  from  the  use  of  longer  or  larger 
boats  on  the  Catharine  or  Fulton  Ferries  would  be  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  the  loss  of  time  which  would  result  from  the  difficulty  of 
navigating  them  in  the  narrow  pass  of  the  river  at  those  ferries. 

Any  apprehension  that  the  boats  can  not  safely  float  and  carry  any 
number  of  passengers  that  go  upon  them  is  entirely  groundless.  The  ton- 
nage of  the  boats  is  so  great  that  they  can  without  difficulty  carry  more 
weight  than  that  of  all  persons  that  can  stand  upon  their  decks  and  cabins. 

The  ice  this  winter  has  been  of  very  unusual  quantity,  and  has  been 
more  spongy  and  snowy  than  usual.  It  would  crack  less  readily  than 
the  ice  we  ordinarily  encounter.  Often,  for  successive  years,  there  will 
be  no  hinderance  or  inconvenience  from  ice,  the  quantity  is  so  small. 


41 


The  inconvenience  from  ice  this  year  was  all  within  about  one  week. 
We  had  no  serious  inconvenience  from  it  before  since  1857.  Sometimes 
for  a  day  or  two  it  would  bother  us. 

All  the  serious  trouble  from  ice  is  on  the  flood  tide.  We  can  always 
go  through  it  on  the  ebb.  It  is  so  broken  up  when  it  flows  out  on  the 
ebb  that  we  can  put  the  boats  through  it  comparatively  easily. 

We  have  an  arrangement  by  which  immediate  relief  could  be  secured 
in  case  of  any  accident  requiring  the  presence  or  aid  of  another  boat. 
There  is  suspended  near  the  pilot-house  of  each  boat  a  large  triangle  of 
steel,  with  an  iron  bar  at  hand.  By  striking  this  bar  on  the  triangle  a 
peculiar  sound  is  produced,  so  loud  that  it  can  be  heard  at  a  long  dis- 
tance. The  orders  to  each  pilot  are  that  whenever  any  triangle  is 
sounded,  every  boat  shall  go  instantly  to  the  relief  of  the  one  giving  the 
signal. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  any  accident  could  happen  to  any  boat 
either  from  collision,  ice,  fire,  or  other  cause  endangering  the  passengers, 
that  almost  instantaneous  relief  would  not  be  at  hand  from  one  or  more 
boats,  sufficient  to  take  off  all  the  passengers  before  any  loss  of  life 
could  occur.  Such  relief,  it  is  believed,  would  be  a  safer  and  surer  re- 
liance than  could  be  derived  from  any  quantity  of  "  life-preservers  "  or 
small  boats.  Of  the  numerous  boats  of  the  Company  which  are  at  all 
times  on  their  transit  across  the  river,  it  is  wholly  improbable  that  there 
would  not  be  some  so  near  the  boat  requiring  aid  as  to  reach  her  in  a 
very  few  minutes. 

Life  boats  and  life-preservers  are  now  and  always  have  been  provided 
on  board  the  boats. 

The  character  of  the  boats  of  this  Company  is  further  shown  by  the 
fact  that,  during  the  rebellion,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
called  on  the  Company  to  surrender  seven  of  them  to  the  public  ser- 
vice ;  that  they  were  taken  by  the  Government,  which  placed  heavy 
batteries  on  board  of  them  ;  and  that  they  proved  valuable  and  efficient 
war  vessels  ;  that  since  the  end  of  the  rebellion  the  Company  has  re- 
purchased two  of  them  from  the  Government,  (the  Somerset  and  the 
Clinton;)  and  that  the  same  are  now  running  on  the  Fulton  Ferry.  "  In 
place  of  the  others  taken  by  the  Government,  the  Company  built  new 
boats,  which  they  now  use  on  the  ferries.  LUTHER  SMITH. 

Sworn  to  before  me,  this  9th  day  of  February,  1867. 

Francis  De  Pfuhl, 

Notary  Public. 

City  and  County  of  New-York,  ss.  : 

Luther  Smith  being  sworn,  says :  that  in  reading  over  the  affidavit 
made  by  him  on  Saturday,  the  9th  day  of  February  instant,  he  perceived 
that,  through  inadvertence,  he  omitted  to  state  therein  the  following 
facts,  namely: 


42 


On  the  Fulton  Ferry,  in  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  when  the  wag- 
ons and  other  morning  passengers  do  not  come  as  early  as  in  the  sum- 
mer and  fall,  we  commence  running  the  first  of  our  morning  day  boats 
at  half-past  four  instead  of  four  a.m.,  and,  as  the  winter  advances,  the 
time  of  such  first  day  boats  is  advanced  from  time  to  time  until  six  and 
half-past  six  a.m.  Whenever  the  first  boats  thus  commence  to  run,  the 
trips  thenceforth  of  all  four  of  the  boats  are  constant,  as  stated  in  my 
previous  affidavit. 

When  we  thus  commence  the  trips  of  the  day  boats  at  half-past  four 
to  half-past  six  as  aforesaid,  we  at  the  same  time  increase  the  frequency 
of  the  night  boats  from  every  fifteen  minutes  to  every  ten  minutes  be- 
tween 4  a.m.,  and  the  time  when  the  day  boats  so  begin. 

On  the  Wall  street  Ferry  we  commence  running  in  winter  at  6  a.m. 
instead  of  5  a.m. 

The  average  of  passengers  on  the  Wall  street  Ferry  between  the 
hours  of  9  and  11  p.m.,  the  year  through,  is,  as  deponent  learns  from 
the  ferrymasters  on  that  ferry,  only  about  twelve  each  way. 

Deponent  further  says  that,  in  stating  in  his  former  affidavit  that  he 
gave  directions  for  the  Republic  to  make  her  trip  as  therein  mentioned, 
he  should  have  added  that  she  would,  under  the  standing  rules  of  the 
Company,  have  done  so  had  he  not  been  present. 

LUTHER  SMITH. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  this  11th  day  of  February,  1867. 

H.  S.  Anderson, 

Notary  Public. 


APPENDIX. 


"  The  Ferry  "  was  established  at  a  very  early  date.  It  is  alluded  to 
as  "the  fferry"  in  the  colonial  records  in  1659,  and  repeatedly  after- 
ward by  the  same  designation.  From  the  earliest  settlement,  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  it  was  from  the  present  landing,  on  the  Brook- 
lyn side  at  Fulton  Ferry,  to  the  nearest  point  in  New-York,  which  was 
the  present  Peck  Slip.  The  road  ran  thence  along  the  East  River  shore 
on  the  present  line  of  Pearl  Street  as  far  as  Hanover  Square,  and  thence 
on  the  present  line  of  Stone  Street  to  the  Fort,  which  stood  on  the 
south  side  of  the  present  Bowling  Green* 

The  City  of  New-York  appears  to  have  depended  largely  for  its  sup- 
port on  its  receipts  from  "the  Ferry." 

In  1707,  Cornelius  Seberingh,  whose  farm  bounded  on  the  Brooklyn 
shore  south  of  Fulton  Street,  sought  leave  to  establish  another  Ferry ; 
and,  seconded  by  others  of  the  inhabitants,  made  application  therefor 
to  Lord  Cornbury,  to  whom  he  presented  the  following  petition : 

PETITION  FOR  AN  ADDITIONAL  FERRY  BETWEEN  N.  Y.  &  LONG  ISLAND. 

To  his  Excellency  Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  Cap"  Gen11  and  Gover 
in  cheif  of  her  Maties  Provinces  of  New  York  &  New  Jersey  and  the 
Territories  depending  thereon  in  America  and  Vice  Admirall  of  the 
same  &c. 

The  Petition  of  Cornelius  Sebering  of  Kings  County  on  the  Island 

of  Nassauw 
Sheweth 

That  yor  Peticonr  is  Seized  &  stands  Possessd  of  a  certain  farm  on 
the  Island  of  Nassauw  directly  over  against  the  center  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  being  a  most  fit  &  convenient  place  for  being  a  ferry  to  & 
from  the  said  City  for  the  transporting  of  Passengers  goods  Wares 
Merchandises  Cattle  Corn  and  other  comodities  to  the  great  ease  &  ben- 
efit of  many  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  City  and  Island  considering 
the  scituacon  as  aforesaid  &  can  be  of  no  hurt  or  dam  mage  to  the  old 
ferry  it  being  not  so  convenient  for  that  ferry  to  send  their  boats  to  the 
South  end  and  Center  of  the  City  where  he  proposes  to  send  his. 

Yor  Petr  therefore  humbly  prays  Yor  Excys  to  grant  to  your  Petr  her 
Maties  Letters  Pattents  under  the  great  Seal  of  this  Province  for  Estab- 
lishing of  a  ferry  over  the  East  River  or  Sound  to  be  limited  on  the 
Island  of  Nassauw  on  the  One  Side  by  the  old  ferry  and  on  the  other 


*  Valentine's  Hist.  N.  Y.,  31. 


44 


side  by  the  Red  hook  &  on  the  side  of  New  York  between  the  Slip  «at 
Cup"  Theobalds  unto  the  great  Bridge  for  the  loading  &  landing  of  all 
persons  goods  wares  &  merchandises  except  Cattle  to  be  landed  at  or 
near  the  slaughter  howscs  (nevertheless  not  excluding  the  old  ferry- 
boat rotn  the  places  aforesaid)  under  such  regulations  &  such  prises 
for  Transportacon  &  small  Quit  rent  or  acknowledgment  as  to  yor  Ex- 
cellency shall  seem  met. 

And  yor  Pef  shall  ever  Pray  Cornelis  Sebekingii. 

New  York  23d  Janr'  170£. 

We  underwritten  do  believe  and  are  assured  that  such  a  ferry  would 
be  of  a  considerable  advantage  to  the  City  &  County  if  the  Prises  for 
Transportacon  be  not  Excessive. 


Abrah  :  Gouverneur 
Leonard  Lewis  1 
Leendert  huygen  de  Kleyn 
Joh  :  Tiebout 
Henry  Swift 
John  Van  Brugh 
Martin  Clock 
Andrew  Grevenraet 
R.  Walter 
Johannes  hooglandt 
Chrestopher  Beekman 
hendrick  vander  heul 
Evert  Duyckinck 
G.  Duyckinck 
Rutgurt  Waldron 
Abr :  Santford 
Benjamin  Faneuil 
Jean  Cazalez 
John  Auboyneaux 
Johannes  Burger 


Daniel  Polhemus 
Engel  bardt  Lott 
John  Ditmars 
Yacob  houderte 
Frederick  Symonse 
Jacobes  Oukes 
Philip  Nagel 
Jurre  Colyer 
Abraham  Brouwer 
Johannis  Polhemius 
Cornelis  Coljer 
Daniel  Remsen 
Auke  LefFertsen 
benyamin  andrews 
Lammert 
Claes  Blom 

Cornelis  Vander  hoeve 
Pieter  Gerbrantse 
Jacob  Fardon 
Benjamin  D'harriette 


This  application  of  Seberingh  was  earnestly  resisted  by  the  cor- 
porate authorities  of  New-York  as  a  violation  of  their  privileges,  and  es- 
pecially on  the  ground  that  their  receipts  from  "  the  Ferry  "  were  "  the 
"  only  considerable  Income  left  to  support  the  publick  buildings  Bridges 
"  Goals  Landing  places  fire  and  Candle  for  their  Watches,  Sallaryes  of 
"  their  officers  Bell  men,  &c ;  and  to  defray  the  other  publick  and  ness- 
"  essary  Charges  of  the  Said  City,"  and  they  presented  the  following 
Remonstrance : 

REMONSTRANCE  OF  THE    CORPORATION    OF    NEW  YORK   AGAINST  THE 
PRECEDING. 

To  His  Excellency  Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  Capt1  General  &  Gov- 
ernour  in  Chief  of  her  Majestys  Province  of  New  York  &c:  and  Terri- 
tories depending  theron  in  America  and  Vice  Admiral  of  the  Same  &c : 

The  humble  Petition  of  the  Mayor  Aldermen  &  Commonality  of  her 
Majestys  City  and  Corporation  of  New  York 

Most  Humbly  Sheweth 

That  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  City  and  Corporation  for  Seaventy 

years  past  have  peaceably  and  quietly  Posses'd  and  Enjoy'd  Several 


45 


Rights  Liberties  Priviledges  Franchises  Free  Customs  Preheminencys 
Advantages  Jurisdictions  Emoluments  and  Immunities  Granted  and 
Confirmed  unto  them  l>y  her  Majesty s  Royal  Ancestors  and  the  divers 
Governours  Authorized  &  Commissioned  by  them  as  well  as  by  the 
several  Governours  Directors  and  Commanders  in  Chief  of  the  Nether 
Dutch  nation  whilst  the  same  was  under  their  power  and  Subjection 
to  the  great  increase  of  her  Majestys  Revenue  and  the  Sencible  Growth 
and  Advancement  of  her  Majesty's  said  City  and  Province  and  Among 
the  "Rest  that  of  the  Ferry  between  the  Said  City  and  Nassaw  Island 
(formerly  Called  long  Island)  and  that  the  loading  and  landing  place 
of  the  said  Ferry  from  this  City  on  Nassaw  Island  hath  been  Commonly 
Esteemed  &  Reputed  for  seaventy  years  past  to  Extend  from  a  heap  of 
Rock  Stones  Gathered  together  on  A  small  wharfe  or  Landing  Bridge 
near  the  ferry  house  on  the  Said  Island  unto  the  West  End  of  the  Kill 
to  the  Westward  of  the  same  and  that  from  high  water  to  low  water 
marke  for  the  Accommodation  of  all  Passengers  and  Travellers  to  and 
from  this  City  as  well  as  for  the  loading  and  unloading  of  wheat  and 
other  Provisions  which  are  accustomed  to  be  there  loaded  in  the  ferry 
boats  for  the  Subsistance  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  City  at  all  times  of 
Tide,  which  said  Ferry  (at  the  great  Charge  and  Expence  of  the  Inhab- 
itants of  the  said  City  and  Corporation  by  their  Erecting  Several  Pub- 
lick  buildings  for  the  service  thereof)  is  rendred  very  Commodious  to 
all  Persons  passing  the  same  at  Very  Easy  and  Moderate  Rates  and  is 
duely  and  Regularly  kept  and  attended  with  able  men  Boats  and  Scows 
and  without  the  least  Complaint  of  Omission  or  neglect  by  any  persons 
whatsoever,  the  Brofitts  whereof  have  always  been  appropriated  by  this 
Corporation  for  the  publich  service  of  the  Government  of  the  said  City 
and  is  the  only  considerable  Income  left  to  support  the  publich  build- 
ings Bridges  Goals  Landing  places  fire  and  Candle  for  their  Watches, 
Sallaryes  of  their  officers  Bellmen  &c  ;  and,  to  defray  the  other  publich 
and  nessessary  Charges  of  the  Said  City,  and  was  Granted  unto  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Said  City  under  the  Seal  of  this  Province  in  the  year 
1686  and  Confirmed  unto  them  by  an  Act  of  General  Assembly  Enti- 
tled an  act  for  the  Settling  Quietting  and  Confirming  unto  the  Citys 
Towns  Mannors  and  Freeholders  within  this  Province  their  several 
Grants  Patents  and  Rights  Respectively. 

That  your  Excellencys  Petitioners  by  your  Lordships  benign  favour 
and  goodness  understanding  that  one  Cornelius  Sebring  for  his  own 
private  Lucre  and  gain  is  soliciting  your  Lordship  for  her  Majestys 
Grant  of  another  Ferry  from  Nassaw  Island  to  this  City  and  of  most 
of  the  Landing  places  now  belonging  to  this  City  designing  thereby  to 
make  Considerable  Improvements  to  Ruine  and  destroy  the  present 
ferry  the  Chief  Income  and  Support  of  this  Corporation  for  the  Pre- 
vention whereof  your  Excellencys  Petitioners  most  humbly  Supplicate 
that  your  Lordship  will  be  favourably  pleased  to  take  the  Premisses 
into  your  Prudent  Consideration  and  tor  the  reasons  aforesaid  (tho 
many  more  may  be  offered  to  long  here  to  incert)  to  Reject  the  unreas- 
onable and  unjust  Petition  of  the  said  Cornelius  Sebring,  wee  haveing 
an  Intire  Confidence  of  your  Excellencys  Justice  and  goodness  that  as 
you  have  hitherto  Protected  us  in  our  Just  Rights  and  Priviledges  (for 
which  wee  Return  your  Lordship  our  most  dutiful!  and  Grateful  1 
Acknowledging  So  your  Lordship  will  Continue  to  Countenance  and 
Protect  us  in  the  same  and  that  you  will  Ever  prefer  the  publick  wel- 
fare of  so  Loyall  and  Considerable  a  People  as  this  Corporation  are 
before  the  Interest  and  unjust  pretence  of  a  Private  Person. 


46 


And  your  Excellencies  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray  &c 

ffebb  5,  1707.  Ebenezer  Willson. 

John  Ilendrick  brevoort  Rich  Willett 

T  :  Van  Zandt  E  :  Blagge 

Christo  Denne  Walter  Thong 

Glfert  Svoerts  John  Tuder 

Paul  Droilhet  D :  Provoost 

Petrus  Bayard  J  D'Riemer 

Wm  Smith 

The  authority  prayed  for  by  Seberingh  to  establish  a  new  ferry  was 
hereupon  refused. 

The  income  of  New-York  was  diminished  by  the  practice  of  the 
inhabitants,  who,  to  some  extent,  instead  of  passing  upon  M  the  Ferry  " 
and  paying  toll,  crossed  and  recrossed  at  other  points.  The  City 
sought  to  prevent  this  practice  by  obtaining  title  and  control  of  the 
whole  Brooklyn  shore  between  high  and  low  water  mark  from  Wall- 
about  Bay  to  Red  Hook  point,  the  title  to  which  was  in  the  Crown, 
and  for  that  purpose,  in  April,  1708,  presented  to  Lord  Cornbury  the 
following  petition : 

PETITION  OF  THE    CORPORATION  OF  N.  Y.,  FOR  AN  ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE 
BOUNDS  OF  THEIR  FERRY  ON  L  I  ISLAND. 

To  His  Excellency  Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  Cap1  General  and  Gov- 
ernor in  Chief  of  the  Province  of  Xew  York  &c :  and  Territories  de- 
pending thereon  in  America  and  Vice  Admiral  of  the  Same  &c  : 
The  Humble  Petition  of  the  Mayor  Aldermen  and  Commonality  of  the 

City  of  Xew  York 
Most  Humbly  Sheweth 

That  the  Petitioners  having  a  Right  and  Interest  in  the  Ferry  from 
this  City  to  Xassaw  Island  and  from  the  said  Island  to  this  City  again 
and  to  all  the  Profitts  and  Advantages  thereof,  Perceive  it  to  fall  much 
short  of  what  they  might  reasonably  Expect  from  the  same  if  the 
bounds  &  Limitts  of  the  said  Ferry  were  Somthing  Extended  on  the 
said  Island  side  whereby  to  hinder  and  prevent  that  priviledge  and 
Liberty  which  clivers  persons  now  take  of  Transporting  themselves  and 
goods  to  and  from  the  said  Island  of  Kassaic  over  the  Said  River  with- 
out Coming  to  or  Landing  at  the  usual  and  accustomed  places  where 
the  said  ferry  Boats  are  kept  and  Appointed  to  the  great  loss  and 
dnmage  of  the  Petitioners  (the  profitts  thereof  being  wholy  appropri- 
ated for  the  publick  service  and  Government  of  the  said  City)  and  itt 
being  obvious  to  your  Petitioners  that  some  private  persons  for  their 
own  Lucre  and  gain  have  solicited  Your  Excellency  for  another  ferry 
on  the  said  Island  fronting  to  this  City  which  if  Granted  would  be  of 
great  damage  to  this  Corporation  and  all  the  Inhabitants  thereof  as  the 
Petitioners  humbly  conceive  would  in  time  not  only  prove  Injurious  to 
the  Trade  and  Commerce  of  this  City  but  also  be  a  means  to  lessen 
the  Income  of  her  Majesty s  Revenue  Established  upon  Trade  to  the 
General  decay  of  the  Province  {the  Improvement  thereof  imployed  now 


47 


in  Traffique  being  scarcely  able  to  maintain  the  Inhabitants  Now  in 
this  City  whose  litelyhood  does  only  rely  thereon) 

Your  Excellency's  Petitioners  therefore  most  humbly  pray  that  your 
Lordship  will  be  favourably  pleased  to  take  the  premises  into  your 
prudent  Consideration  and  order  her  Majesty s  Grant  unto  the  Petition- 
ers and  their  Successors  for  all  the  Vacant  and  unappropriated  Ground 
on  Nassaw  Island  from  High  water  to  Low  water  marke  fronting  unto 
this  City  from  the  place  Called  the  Wallabought  unto  the  Red  hooke 
against  Nutten  Island*  for  the  better  Improvement  and  accommodation 
of  the  Said  ferry ;  and  also  that  your  Excellency  would  be  further 
pleased  to  order  unto  the  Petitioners  &  their  Successors  her  Majestys 
Grant  of  Confirmation  for  the  said  ferry  on  both  sides  of  the  said  River 
with  power  to  Establish  one  or  more  ferrys  if  there  shall  be  occasion 
and  to  make  by-Laws  for  the  more  orderly  Regulation  thereof  at  such 
Reasonable  Rates  and  under  such  Moderate  quitt  Rent  as  your  Lord- 
ship in  your  great  prudence  shall  see  meet.  And  your  Excellencies 
Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray  &c 

Wm  Smith  Ebenezer  Willson 

Christo  :  Denne  John  Tuder 

John  hendr   breevoort  D  Provoost 

PaulDroilhet  Rich  Willett 

Olfert  Svoerts  J  D  :  Riemer 

E.  Blagge 

This  petition  was  granted,  and  the  following  indorsement  was  made 
thereon : 

"April  8th  1708  Bead  and  granted  &  a  Warr*  to  be  prepared 
"for  the  Attorney  Gen11  to  draw  a  Patty 


Thereupon  the  Cornbury  Charter  (sometimes  called  "  Queen  Anne's 
Charter")  was  granted  to  the  City  of  New-York.    It  commences  thus  : 

"  Anne,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scotland,  France  &  Ireland, 
queen,  defender  of  the  faith,  &c.  :  To  all  whom  these  presents  may  in 
any  wise  concern,  sendeth  greeting  : 

"  Whereas  the  Mayor  Aldermen  &  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New 
Y'ork  by  their  petition  to  our  right  trusty  &  well  beloved  cousin  Edward 
Viscount  Cornbury,  our  Captain  General  &  Governor  in  Chief  in  &  over 
our  province  of  New  York  and  territories  depending  thereon  in  America, 
and  Vice  Admiral  of  the  same,  &c,  preferred  in  council ;  therein  setting 
forth,  that  they  have  a  right  and  interest,  under  divers  ancient  charters 
&  grants  by  divers  former  governors  &  commanders  in  chief  of  our  said 
province  of  New  York,  under  our  noble  progenitors,  in  a  certain  ferry 
from  the  said  City  of  New  York,  over  the  East  River  to  Nassau  Island 
(alias  Long  Island)  and  from  the  sd  island  to  the  sd  city  again,  &  have 
possessed  the  same,  and  reed  all  the  profits,  benefits  &  advantages 
thereof,  for  vhe  space  of  fifty  years  and  upwards ;  and  perceiving  the 
profits,  advantages  &  benefits  usually  issuing  out  of  the  same  to 
diminish,  decrease,  and  fall  short  of  what  might  be  reasonably  made  of 


*  Governor's  Island. 


48 


the  same,  for  the  want  of  the  bounds  and  limits  to  be  extended  and  en- 
larged On  the  said  Island  side,  whereby  to  prevent  divers  persons  from 
transporting  themselves  &  goods  to  &  from  the  said  Island  Nassau 
(alias  Long  Island)  over  the  said  river,  without  coming  or  landing  at  the 
usual  &  accustomed  places,  where  the  ferry  boats  are  usually  kept  and 
appointed,  to  the  great  loss  &  damage  to  the  said  City  of  New  York; 
have  humbly  prayed  our  grant  and  confirmation,  under  the  great  seal  of 
our  said  province  of  New  York,  of  the  said  ferry,  called  the  Old  Ferry, 
on  both  sides  of  the  East  River, 

******** 
and  also  of  all  the  vacant  &  unappropriated  land,  from  high  water  mark 
to  low  water  mark  on  the  said  Nassau  Island  (alias  Long  Island)  lying 
contiguous  &  fronting  the  said  City  of  New  York,  from  a  certain  place 
called  the  Wall-about  unto  the  Red  Hook,  over  against  Nutten  Island 
for  the  better  improvement  and  accommodation  of  the  said  ferry,  with 
lull  power,  leave,  &  license  to  set  up,  establish,  maintain  &  keep  one  or 
more  ferry  or  f.rries,  for  the  ease  &  accommodation  of  all  passengers 
&  travellers  for  the  transportation  of  themselves,  goods,  horses  &  cattle 
over  the  said  river,  within  the  oounds  aforesaid,  as  they  shall  see  meet 
convenient  &  occasion  require. 

"The  which  petition  we  being  minded  to  grant — Know  ye  that  of 
our  especial  jirace,  certain.,  knowledge  &  meer  motion  we  have  given, 
granted,  ratified  and  confirmed,  etc."  *  *  *  * 

(The  grant  is  then  made  confirming  the  title  of  the  City  to  the 
ferry,  and  grants  the  strip  asked  for,  between  high  and  low  water,  as 
follows:) 

"  And  also  all  that  the  aforesaid  vacant  and  unappropriated  ground 
lying  &  being  on  the  said  Nassau  Island  (alias  Long  Island)  from 
high  water,  mark,  to  low  water  mark  aforesa'd,  contiguous  &  fronting 
the  said  Cur  of  New- York,  from  the  aforesaid  place  called  the  Wall- 
about,  to  Red  Hook  aforesaid  ;  That  is  to  say,  from  the  east  side  of  the 
Wall-about  opposite  the  now  dwelling-house  of  James  Bobine,  to  the 
west  side  of  the  Red  Hook,  commonly  called  the  fishing-place. 

******** 

(Power  is  then  granted  to  the  City  to  establish  other  ferries  within 
the  above  limits,  and  to  establish  ordinances,  etc.,  respecting  the  same.) 

Witness  our  right  trusty  &  well-beloved  cousin  Edward  Viscount 
Cornbury,  Captain  General  &  Governor-in-Chief  in  &  over  our  province 
of  New  York  aforesaid,  &  territories  thereon  depending  in  America,  & 
Vice  Admiral  of  the  same,  etc.,  in  council  at  our  fort  in  New  York  the 
19th  day  of  April,  in  the  seventh  year  of  our  reign,  Annoque  Domini 
1708. 

This  is  the  history  of  the  title  of  the  City  of  New- York  to  the  strip 
of  land  between  high  and  low  water,  on  the  Brooklyn  shore,  between 
the  Wall-about  and  Buttermilk  Channel. 

The  City  of  New-York  has,  by  various  subsequent  deeds,  conveyed  to 
the  several  riparian  owners,  such  portions  of  this  strip  between  high 
and  low  water,  as  lie  in  front  of  their  respective  lands. 


